MGNREGS UPDATE - Foundation for Ecological Securityfes.org.in/pdf/newsletter/mgnrega-update-june-2nd-2017.pdfinitiative of the department after “Meri Sadak” and “Aawas” mobile

Initiative towards Energizing MGNREGA. ……………

Govt. to look into revision of schedule of rates for

MNREGS

Jun 16, 2017 02:43 PM IST

Source: Moneycontrol.com

The schedule of rates refers to the amount of work a

worker has to do to earn a full day’s wage. Many

states have their own schedule of rates according to

the soil types in the state, as most of the works under

MNREGS are related to earth.

Moneycontrol News

A committee chaired by Nagesh Singh, the additional

secretary in the Rural Development Ministry, will look

into the revision of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) wages,

according to a report by The Economic Times.

The committee, comprising state secretaries, will look

into the revision of wage structure for NREGS. The

central government has found huge differences in the

schedule of rates employed by each state for the

scheme. The committee would recommend a band of

rates to be followed by states in order to have a more

identical rate structure, the newspaper quotes

government officials.


worker has to do to earn a full day’s wage. Many states

have their own schedule of rates according to the soil

types in the state, as most of the works under

MNREGS are related to earth.

MGNREGS UPDATE News for Internal Circulation No. 69/ June 16, 2017 – June 30, 2017 Foundation for Ecological Security

Inside News

• Government makes 86% timely payment under MGNREGA in April-June period

• 75 crore person days’ work generated under MGNREGS

• Ministry of Rural Development honors individuals for ‘effective initiatives’

• Centre to Award 6 Odisha Districts For Achievement in PMAY, Grameen

• NITI praises 1991 reforms under Cong, to pitch for MGNREGA

• Niti Aayog vindicates UPA’s claims on poverty alleviation

• DBT Windfall: Government Saved Rs 20,000 Crore Last Fiscal, Total Savings Hit Rs 57,000 Crore

• Bengal tops the country in MGNREGA implementation.

• CM pitches for innovation in MGNREGA implementation

Articles

• Government moves to end disparity in NREGS schedule of rates

Government Order

• Meeting to review the progress on DBT and MIS related issues – reg.

• Regarding training of STRT, DTRT and BTRT under SAKSHAM


The wage revisions are currently based on changes in

Consumer Price Index for agricultural labour. The

most recent revision has been of 2.7 percent for 2017-

18, which resulted in an effective hike of mere Rs 1 in

states such as Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

The wage revisions are currently based on changes in

Consumer Price Index for agricultural labour. The

most recent revision has been of 2.7 percent for 2017-

18, which resulted in an effective hike of mere Rs 1 in

states such as Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. An

earlier report by the ministry had also noted that

revisions in minimum wages by states were irregular.

The disparity in schedules of one state to the other

results in a labourer in Bihar to working thrice as much

as in other states with similar soil condition to earn a

day’s wage.

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/economy/govt-to-

look-into-revision-of-schedule-of-rates-for-mnregs-2305897.html

Government makes 86% timely payment under

MGNREGA in April-June period

By ET Bureau | Jun 30, 2017, 05.36 PM IST

NEW DELHI: Government has managed to make 86

per cent timely payment under the Mahatma Gandhi

National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme for

April-June 2017.

Supreme Court had pulled up the Centre over the issue

of delayed payments under NREGS at a time when

farmers were reeling under drought conditions. Only

64 per cent payments were made on time during April-

June 2016 to NREGS workers.

Rural development ministry had released Rs 23,443

crore -- half of the budgetary allocation under the

scheme to states in April itself to ensure that there is

adequate flow of funds and to avoid delays.

Government has made 99 per cent of payments

through the electronic financial management system

for faster transfer of funds into the bank accounts of

beneficiaries.

Supreme Court had pulled up the Centre over the issue

of delayed payments under NREGS at a time when

farmers were reeling under drought conditions.

(Representative image)

"The Central Government has ensured timely release

of funds and States have responded by strengthening

the implementation machinery to provide timely

payments," a press statement by rural development

ministry said.

Nearly 75 crore person days of work has already been

created so far under the scheme. More than 74 per cent

of expenditure has been undertaken for agriculture and

allied activities works. NREGS has claimed to have

created over 91 lakh hectares irrigation potential in the

last 2 years, which is currently being evaluated by the

Institute of Economic Growth.

Government has also weeded out fake and invalid 1.1

crore job cards in a verification exercise which is still

underway. Nearly 87 per cent job cards have been

verified so far. There has been a registration of 89 lakh

new job cards to ensure that deprived households get

work.


According to government data, among over 10.8 crore

active workers, 5.2 crore are currently on the Aadhaar-

based Payment System (ABPS) and over 9 crore

workers have seeded their Aadhaar details with

consent for NREGS.

The Centre has asked all states to finish the financial

audit of the scheme for 2016-17 by September this

year so that the remaining amount allocated to the

scheme can be released early. The ministry has also

drawn up a list of states accounting for maximum

transactions and delays to sharpen focus on timely

payments. Nearly 95 per cent of the transactions are

done by 17 states.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/gover

nment-makes-86-timely-payment-under-the-mgnrega-in-april-june-

period/articleshow/59386893.cms

75 crore person days’ work generated under

MGNREGS

Our Bureau ,New Delhi, June 30

A total of 75 crore person days’ work has been created

under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) during the past three

months, the Ministry of Rural Development said on

Friday.

“Around 80 lakh to one crore workers are seeking

work every day under this scheme and 86 per cent of

them are paid within 15 days,” said the Ministry.

The Ministry noted that 99 per cent of payments under

MGNREGS are made using electronic Financial

Management System.

The Ministry said: “5.2 crore workers are already on

the Aadhaar-based Payment System.

Over nine crore workers have seeded their Aadhaar

details. Of these, 87 per cent have been verified and

there has been additional registration of 89 lakh new

job cards.”

The government estimates that MGNREGS has

created over 91 lakh hectares irrigation potential in the

last two years and completion of 2.62 lakh water

conservation works in this year.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/75-crore-person-

days-work-generated-under-mgnregs/article9743767.ece

Ministry of Rural Development honors individuals

for ‘effective initiatives’

By Accommodation Times Bureau

The Ministry of Rural Development organized an

Award function on 19th June, 2017. The Programme

showcased achievements under different programmes

implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development.

States, Institutions and Government Functionaries,

who have done commendable work under different

schemes were awarded in the function. Short films on

Water Conservation under Geo-MGNREGA,

Construction of houses under Pradhan Mantri Aawaas

Yojana of Jadia Bai, a 100 year old tribal women of

Madhya Pradesh and an audio visual song on PMGSY

which was sung by Shanwere also shown. A Citizen

centric mobile application on MGNREGA capable of

providing information on different aspects of

GNREGA Programme was launched by the Minister


for Rural Development. The Department of Rural

Development extensively uses Information and Space

Technology in its programme management and the

“Jan-MGNREGA” App is a third such citizen centric

initiative of the department after “Meri Sadak” and

“Aawas” mobile app.

Total of 144 Awards were given under different

programmes. Awards on Sustainable Livelihood,

Transparency and Accountability, Aadhaar Seeding,

Conversion and Geo-MGNREGA were given under

MGNREGA. Under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak

Yojana, awards were given to States for highest

amount of rural roads (Bihar) and use of Non

conventional construction material (Madhya Pradesh).

Haryana, Gujarat and Karnataka received a special

prize for completing more than 95 percent of PMGSY

(Phase I &II) targets. Under PMAY-G Awards were

given to States which performed well on different

parameters, Central Building Research Institute,

Roorkee which provided technical vetting of housing

typologies, NIC team of the Department of Rural

Development for technical support and Dr. Prabir

Kumar Das, Senior citizen, Advisor, UNDP for

significant contribution in use of innovative

technologies. 9 District Collectors who have

completed largest number of PMAY-G houses were

also awarded, the significant part being 5 of the 9

District Collectors coming from Odisha.

Awards were given to National Resource

Organizations, State Rural Livelihood Missions and

Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, Allahabad

Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, UCO Bank, Central

Bank of India and ICICI Bank. The States which

received awards were Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,

Kerala, Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya

Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Karnataka and West Bengal

under different categories. Under skill development

category the best performing States, best champion

employers and best training partners, received the

awards.

There was also a presentation on the key findings of

evaluation of National Rural Livelihood Mission

carried out by Indian Institute of Rural Management,

Anand. Evaluation report had highlighted the main

strength of the programme and has given many

suggestions for strengthening and expansion of the

programme across the country.

The Minister of State for Rural Development, Shri

Ram Kripal Yadav, complimented the award winners

and highlighted the role of institutional partnerships in

successful implementation of rural development

programmes. The Minister for Rural Development,

Shri Narendra Singh Tomar congratulated the award

winners. He highlighted the major transformation that

was brought by the Government in programme

execution. He indicated that the Government has

completed restructure MGNREGA. The investments

are channelized for Water harvesting, Water

Conservation and Agricultural and Allied activities to

strengthen resource base of the rural poor. Targets

under PMAY–G and PMGSY have been set for 2019

and the Government is fully committed to provide

financial support to the States to achieve these targets.

He also highlighted the use of Information Technology

and Space Technology in programme monitoring and

in obtaining citizens feedback through mobile

applications. Shri Tomar, mentioned employment

generation under different programmes of the

department, especially the skilling of rural youth and

skilled employment opportunities being created for

them. He also highlighted challenges that people faced

in rural areas and exhorted the State Governments,

Officials and other Stake Holders to work together to


overcome these challenges and provide a better deal to

people.

http://accommodationtimes.com/ministry-of-rural-development-

honors-individuals-for-effective-initiatives/

Centre to Award 6 Odisha Districts For

Achievement in PMAY, Grameen

The Centre has selected Ganjam as one of the six

districts in the state for the national award for

significant achievement in completion of Pradhan

Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Grameen - the rural

housing scheme for 2016-17.

PTI, Updated: June 18, 2017, 8:10 PM IST

Berhampur (Odisha): The Centre has selected Ganjam

as one of the six districts in the state for the national

award for significant achievement in completion of

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Grameen - the

rural housing scheme for 2016-17.

Other districts which have been selected by the Union

Rural Development Ministry for the prestigious award

are Sambalpur, Bolangir, Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh and

Balasore, officials on Sunday said.

The collectors of the districts will be felicitated in a

ceremony held at New Delhi soon. Ganjam district

collector Prem Chandra Chaudhary will attend the

ceremony to receive the award, the officials said.

As against the target of construction of 13,395 houses

in rural areas under the PMAY (Grameen) during

2016-17, as many as 1,362 houses have been

completed so far in the district, said Project Director,

District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Vijay

Amrut Kulangee.

The other houses are in different stages and are

expected to be completed in next 2 to 3 months, he

said.

Out of the set target, the administration has sanctioned

for construction of 13,123 houses in the district during

the year, officials said.

Significant achievements in the rural housing scheme

is that, the administration has provided funds for other

components like construction of toilets (Rs 12,000)

under the Swachha Bharat Mission, drains (Rs 5,000),

vermiculture (Rs 15,000) and wages of 95 days under

the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Besides, an incentive of Rs 20,000 will also be

provided by the state government to the beneficiary on

successful completion of the house within four months

of getting the work order.

These benefits are provided to a beneficiary in addition

to the cost of construction of the house fixed at Rs 1.30

lakh, said the PD, DRDA.

"A beneficiary will get around Rs 2 lakh for

construction of the house under PMAY (G), if he/she

completes within four months," he added.

Ganjam, which stood second after Sambalpur in

successful implementation of the PMAY (Grameen),

had received the state level award for overall

performances by the state government, recently.

The Chief Minister had awarded a cash prize of Rs 50

lakh to the district recently.

http://www.news18.com/news/india/centre-to-award-6-odisha-

districts-for-achievement-in-pmay-grameen-1436405.html


NITI praises 1991 reforms under Cong, to pitch for

MGNREGA

The report, authored by Niti Aayog vice chairman

Arvind Panagariya, says much of India’s rapid growth

stems from economic reforms initiated in 1991.

Updated: Jun 25, 2017 00:02 IST

Jatin Gandhi Hindustan Times, New Delhi

NITI Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya (Mint

File Photo)

The ruling BJP might be pursuing the goal of a

‘Congress-mukt Bharat’ as a solution to the country’s

problems, but a government report prepared by the

NITI Aayog — its think tank — feels otherwise.

The report credits economic reforms initiated by the

Narasimha Rao government in 1991 and the UPA’s

rural employment guarantee scheme with improving

India’s development indices.

The Voluntary National Review Report, which maps

the progress India has made on sustainable

development goals (SDGs), will be discussed at the

UN’s High Level Political Forum on Sustainable

Development in New York next month.

“There is compelling evidence that the rapid growth

India has achieved following the economic reforms

initiated in 1991 has led to significant reduction in

poverty. Poverty has fallen across all economic, social

and religious groups nationally and in all states in the

post-reform era.

Sustained growth (6.2% from 1993-94 to 2003-04 and

8.3% from 2004-05 to 2011-12) has created gainful

employment and helped raise wages,” the report,

authored by Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya

says.

The report also praises a number of initiatives of the

current government, ranging from the Pradhan Mantri

Jan Dhan Yojana, the Clean India campaign to

providing soil health cards to farmers. “Over 130

million people have accessed life and accident

insurance under the programmes. Efforts are underway

to universalise access to basic services. In order to

achieve the goal of housing for all by 2022, direct

financial assistance is being extended to poor

households,” it says.

In February 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had

mocked the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) programme,

dubbing it “a living monument” of the UPA’s failures.

“After 60 years, you are still making people dig

holes,’’ he had said. But in the last budget, the

government announced plans to improve the existing

scheme and allocate more funds for it.

“Several large-scale anti-poverty programmes have

been implemented. The Mahatma Gandhi National

Rural Employment Guarantee Act, for instance, has

generated over two billion person-days of employment

during 2016-17 alone, largely for the disadvantaged

sections of society,” the report now says. It goes on to

list a number of initiatives for poverty eradication.

Initiatives like the Make in India campaign

“accelerated Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows


and helped the country sustain an average growth of

7.5 percent during the last three financial years (2014-

15 to 2016-17)”, the report points out.

Apart from notable progress over the last decade, the

statistics in the report also point to the problem areas.

For instance, stunted growth among children remains

an issue, though it is down from nearly 50% in 2005-

06 to 38.4% a decade later. Similarly, less than half of

Indian households (43.8%) have access to clean fuel.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/niti-praises-1991-

reforms-under-cong-to-pitch-for-mgnrega/story-

3CdkAcOpbiCUHXsZoBzhtO.html

Niti Aayog vindicates UPA’s claims on

poverty alleviation

The Niti Aayog's report, submitted before the United

Nations, acknowledges that anti-poverty programmes

like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) helped weaker sections of

the society.

Written by Pranav Mukul | New Delhi | Published:June

27, 2017 2:13 am

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has

called on different countries to begin efforts to achieve

the 17 defined goals over the next 15-year period

Vindicating the UPA government’s stand on pulling

people out of poverty, India’s Voluntary National

Review Report on the implementation of Sustainable

Development Goals to the United Nations has said that

sustained growth of 8.3 per cent from 2004-05 to

2011-12, and 6.2 per cent during 1993-94 to 2003-04

“created gainful employment and helped raise wages

thereby directly empowering the poor”. The Niti

Aayog led the preparation of the report, as part of its

role to co-ordinate for the 2030 Agenda for sustainable

development. The review report was submitted to the

UN last week, and will be discussed at a meeting of

multilateral agency’s High Level Political Forum in

July.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has

called on different countries to begin efforts to achieve

the 17 defined goals over the next 15-year period. “It

has also brought the government an increased volume

of revenues enabling it to sustain a high level of social

spending and, thus, doubling the direct effect of

growth on poverty,” the report said, adding that

implementation of several large-scale anti-poverty

programmes such as the MGNREGA has helped the

weaker sections of the society. “The Mahatma Gandhi

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

(MGNREGA), for instance, has generated over 2

billion person-days of employment during 2016-17

alone, largely for the disadvantaged sections of

society,” the report added, highlighting that women

and disadvantaged groups have been the largest

beneficiaries of the rural job guarantee scheme,

accounting for 56 per cent and 39 per cent of person-

days of work generated during the last year,

respectively.

Data released in 2013 by the erstwhile Planning

Commission, which was replaced by the Niti Aayog,

had shown that from 2004-05 onwards, almost 2 crore

people were pulled out of poverty every year from

2004-05 onwards, resulting in a decline in number of


people below the Tendulkar poverty line to 270

million in 2011-12 from 407 million in 2004-05.

“There is compelling evidence that the rapid growth

India has achieved following the economic reforms

initiated in 1991 has led to significant reduction in

poverty. Poverty has fallen across all economic, social

and religious groups nationally and in all states in the

post-reform era,” the Niti Aayog noted in the report. It

has highlighted these points in its first Sustainable

Development Goal to “end poverty in all its forms

everywhere”.

Furthermore, the voluntary review report also

highlights the importance of food security in dealing

with the ill-effects of poverty. “A direct consequence

of poverty is food insecurity. To address this problem,

the National Food Security Act provides a basic

quantity of food grains to nearly 75 per cent of the

population in rural areas and 50 per cent of the

population in urban areas at affordable prices under the

Targeted Public Distribution System,” it said. The PDS

programme provides 5 kg wheat or rice per person per

month at subsidised rates.

Going forward, the report has said that efforts are

required to make access to basic services universal,

with drinking water and sanitation being priority areas

apart from programmes that are already underway

including housing for all, increasing access to

education, health and nutritional security, with a

special focus on “vulnerable groups such as women

and children”.

In the opening statement of the report, Niti Aayog

vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya has noted that while

India remains committed to protecting the

environment, the success of the Paris Agreement

required other signatories to “make good on their

commitment as well”. “These … include the provision

of financial resources to the tune of $100 billion per

year for the developing countries,” he wrote. Recently,

the US pulled out of the Paris accord, which aims at

reducing global carbon emissions.

“Even as it combats poverty, India remains committed

to protecting the environment. Under its Nationally

Determined Contributions, India has ambitiously

committed to reducing the emissions intensity per unit

of GDP by 33-35 per cent by 2030 relative to its 2005

levels. Furthermore, it plans to create an additional

carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes through additional

tree cover,” Panagariya noted.

Additionally, the review report elaborated on how

expansion of transportation forms such as waterways,

rural road connectivity, would result in reduction of

logistics-related costs and have a positive

environmental impact. “A total length of 8,000 km of

pavements and cycle tracks will also be laid in 106

cities over the course of the next five years to promote

non-motorised transport and reduce the carbon

footprint,” it said.

It said that the Centre has set an investment target of

Rs 25 lakh crore, or $390 billion, for infrastructure

development over a period of three years 2016-2019.

The government is also making efforts to mobilise

additional resources, it pointed out. “For instance, the

monetisation of 75 publicly funded highway projects

of value Rs 356 billion ($5.6 billion) via the toll-

operate-transfer mode will finance the construction of

2,700 km of roads. Moreover, the Indian Railways is

setting up a Rs 350 billion ($ 5.5 billion) Railways of

India Development Fund to serve as an institutional

mechanism for raising funds from the market,” the

report noted.


Furthermore, the review report said that there was

scope for boosting domestic resources by expanding

the tax base and strengthening the tax administration

system, considering that the tax to GDP ratio in India

was significantly lower than the average for BRICS

countries. “The Indian government has committed to

the implementation of an ambitious tax reform agenda,

including the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as well

as direct tax reforms to increase domestic resource

mobilisation, while committing to keeping public debt

at sustainable levels in the medium term,” it said.

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/niti-aayog-report-upa-govt-

poverty-alleviation-congress-4723525/

DBT Windfall: Government Saved Rs 20,000 Crore

Last Fiscal, Total Savings Hit Rs 57,000 Crore

Swarajya Staff, Jun 29 20, 12:41 pm,

In the fiscal year (FY) 2016-17, the government has

managed to save huge sums of money through better

targeting of schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi

National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

(MGNREGS) and PAHAL, using Aadhaar and direct

benefit transfer (DBT), Aman Sharma of the Economic

Times has reported.

Through DBT, all benefits are transferred directly to

the beneficiary’s account.

MGNREGS has emerged as the biggest winner, with

more than Rs 8,741 crore saved in the last financial

year. Just behind MGNREGS is liquefied petroleum

gas subsidy scheme called PAHAL, with Rs 8,185

crore saved. In total, the government has saved Rs

20,000 crore through DBT in various schemes last

fiscal. This has raised its cumulative savings since

taking office to Rs 57,029 crore.

The introduction of Aadhaar in MGNREGS has led to

scrapping of nearly one crore fake and fraudulent job

cards, a government official has told the newspaper.

This has brought down the total number of job cards

under the scheme to 12 crore.

"It is ironical that a UPA government’s subsidy

scheme is bringing the maximum savings for the

current government. We have seeded 85 per cent of

MGNREGS accounts with Aadhaar," the official was

quoted by the newspaper as saying.

https://swarajyamag.com/insta/dbt-windfall-government-saved-rs-

20000-crore-last-fiscal-total-savings-hit-rs-57000-crore

Bengal tops the country in MGNREGA

implementation

Tarun Goswami | 19 Jun 2017 11:49 PM | Kolkata

West Bengal has been declared the best state in the

country in imparting livelihood through convergence

under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Act ( MGNREGA) scheme.

The state has for the first time bagged six more awards

in different categories for excellent work in rural

development. Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister

for Rural Development handed over the prizes at a

function held at Vijnan Bhavan in New Delhi on

Monday morning. Dibyendu Sarkar, commissioner,

Panchayats and Rural Development Department took


the award comprising a 24 carat gold plate for

becoming the best state in imparting livelihood

through convergence under MGNREGA. This

recognition demolishes the claim made by some BJP

leaders including the party president Amit Shah that no

rural development had taken place in West Bengal

under Mamata Banerjee.

West Bengal has bagged awards in Dindayal

Upadhyay National Rural Livelihood Mission

(NRLM) and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (

PMGSY). Two districts, Nadia and Cooch Bihar have

been adjudged the best in their respective categories.

While Nadia has been declared the best district in the

country for excellent implementation in MGNREGA,

Cooch Bihar has become the country's best district in

Geo MGNREGA. This is for the first time that the

Rural Development Ministry has started an award in

this category. A district participating in the category

had to submit a presentation before a committee

headed by Satish Agnihotri who is attached to IIT

Delhi. Then a team from the Centre made an on the

spot visit following which the best district was

selected.

It may be mentioned that after coming to power in the

state chief minister Mamata Banerjee accorded

topmost priority to rural development. Steps were

taken to ensure that all rural homes have toilets by

March 2019 and Nadia was the country's first Open

Defecation Free (ODF) district. So far, six districts in

West Bengal have been declared as ODF. Work is

underway to provide drinking water to all rural homes

and the chief minister has inaugurated construction of

25,000 km rural roads. In Nadia district plantation of

Vetiver grass to check soil erosion along the river

christened Subujayan by Mamata Banerjee has

attracted the attention of Vetiver experts throughout

the globe. The state government has taken up a scheme

to plant Vetiver along 730 km of the river bank in the

district. Taking a cue from Nadia's success, East

Midnapore district administration is also planting the

grass to prevent soil erosion. Over 60 nurseries have

been set up in Nadia to grow the grass.

http://www.millenniumpost.in/big-stories/big-stories-248159

CM pitches for innovation in MGNREGA

implementation

MEGHALAYA, On Jun 24, 2017

Chief Minister Mukul Sangma hands over an award to

a VEC member for effective and innovative

contribution in the implementation of MGNREGS.

SHILLONG: Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has asked

the Village Employment Council functionaries under

MGNREGA to try to achieve the 100 days guaranteed

wages and to supplement it with innovative and

convergence efforts taking advantage of the fund

available.

Inaugurating the Conference of Village Employment

Councils at the Convocation Hall of NEHU, Sangma

said that the occasion is also an opportunity to come

together and celebrate their 10 years of partnership

with the Government in the implementation of

MGNREGA.


Minister, Animal Husbandry & Veterinary H D R

Lyngdoh and Pro Vice Chancellor, NEHU, Henry

Lamin were also present for the inaugural session.

The Chief Minister said that 60:40 ratio of the wage

and material component under MGNREGA is an issue

which poses difficulties for the VECs, who have

limited choices in their plans to create durable assets

which involve high materials cost.

He further informed that since 2016-2017 the

government has earmarked Rs 5 lakh each of rural

constituencies under CMSRDF to utilise it in

convergence with MGNREGS so that durable assets

can be created.

He also said that the VEC model developed in the state

is the best that is blended with the traditional

institutions and Meghalaya is one of the top

performers in the country.

He added that it is the responsibility of both the

government and the VECs to infuse a sense of

enthusiasm and commitment and shoulder the

objective as a shared agenda.

CM releases Livestock Mission Document

Sangma also released the Livestock Mission

Document during the occasion. The Livestock Mission

is a convergence mission designed by Government of

Meghalaya to create ecologically sustainable

livelihood in the rural areas.

The five year mission will ensure 40 % households of

livestock farming and the mission will encourage

micro entrepreneurship and also promote breeding

centers.

The conference was attended by VEC functionaries

from six districts of Khasi and Jaintia Hills and from

24 C & RD Blocks.

Senior officers from various line departments were

also present during the occasion.

http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2017/06/24/cm-pitches-for-

innovation-in-mgnrega-implementation/

Government moves to end disparity in NREGS

schedule of rates

By Ruchika Chitravanshi

NEW DELHI: A worker needs to dig as much as 80

feet in Bihar to earn a day’s wage under the Mahatma

Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee

Scheme, nearly thrice as much as another worker in a

different state with similar soil conditions.

The government has found such large disparities in the

schedule of rates for its flagship rural jobs programme

which lead to a huge difference in the wage rates as

well.

The average wages under the scheme were increased

2.7% for 2017-18 following the changes in Consumer

Price Index for agricultural labour.



labourer has to do to earn a full day’s wage.

A committee comprising state secretaries formed to

look into the revision of MGNREGS wages will hold a

meeting next week to suggest a band of rates which the

states should follow in order to have a more identical

rate structure, officials said. Headed by Nagesh Singh,

additional secretary in the rural development ministry,

the committee had last month sent a group of engineers

to examine the schedule of rates in different states.

“Some of the states have declared a separate schedule

for MGNREGS wages. If we have to correct the wage

rates in MGNREGS we first need to remove these

disparities,” said a senior government official, who did

not wish to be identified. The government wants to

define a range of wage rates for all the works

identified under MGNREGS after getting the states on

board.

The committee chaired by Singh was to examine the

recommendations made last year by the Mahendra Dev

Committee on the wage calculation methodology.

The average wages under the scheme were increased

2.7% for 2017-18 following the changes in Consumer

Price Index for agricultural labour. For several states

including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and

Uttarakhand this translated to a mere Rs 1 hike in

wages.

While the committee will consult states on switching

from CPI for agricultural labour to CPI for rural areas

and linking it to minimum wages for states, fixing the

schedule of rates will help in wage correction to a far

greater extent, the senior official said.

The committee is also studying the financial impact of

switching the price index for wage calculation for the

scheme and is likely to make a presentation to the

finance ministry next month with its final

recommendations, he said.

According to government data, 56 crore person days of

work has been generated since the beginning of this

financial year and 87% of wage payments have been

made within 15 days of work done as mandated under

the programme.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/govern

ment-moves-to-end-disparity-in-nregs-schedule-of-

rates/articleshow/59168095.cms


This information bulletin is a part of our initiative towards improving

water conservation through leveraging NREGA.

Supported by: Hindustan Unilever Foundation

Documents

MGNREGS UPDATE - Foundation for Ecological Securityfes.org.in/pdf/newsletter/mgnrega-update-june-2nd-2017.pdfinitiative of the department after “Meri Sadak” and “Aawas” mobile