Administrative innovation
2006
A few district administrations in the country have introduced innovative methods of implementing the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). A summary of some initiatives is given below.
Payment through coupons
The district administration in Jalaun, Uttar Pradesh, has distributed ‘shramik’ coupons to NREGS workers in Taharpur and Niwaspur villages in Kadora block. These coupons are designed to look like cheques. Each cheque, with a counterfoil, has a value of Rs 100, which is the minimum wage in Uttar Pradesh. A ‘cheque book’ of coupons is distributed at the start of every financial year.
If a worker does not have a bank account at the time of payment, he submits coupons equal to the number of days he has worked, to the gram rozgar sevak. That is, if a worker has worked for three days, he has to present three coupons of Rs 100 each. The rozgar sevak withdraws and pays him the money accordingly. He cannot withdraw more money as withdrawals are cross-checked against the number of coupons.
Every day, workers ask the rozgar sevak to put an NREGS seal on the counterfoil. If a worker has not been paid for the number of days he has worked, he can always show, as proof, the stamped counterfoil and get his due wages.
The shramik cheque book, like a job card, remains with the worker at all times. A significant advantage of the cheque book is that, at the time of inspection, all the inspector has to do is check a shramik coupon and ask the rozgar sevak how much the labourer has been paid. The amount is immediately checked against the counterfoil to see whether the total amount has been paid.
Group-wise napi/payment system
The district administration in Jalore, Rajasthan, has introduced a group-wise napi/payment system that ensures that workers are paid according to the work they have completed. This system was specifically put in place to discourage the uniform, collective napi/payment system prevalent in Rajasthan, under which workers were being paid a mere Rs 45 a day -- way below the daily minimum wage rate of Rs 73.
Under the alternative system, the work done by each group of workers is assessed and paid separately. Smallgroupsof five workers each are formed and each group is given a separate task(equivalent to Rs 73 per person per day). The tasks completed by each group are recorded every day. The average wage rate is calculated for each group based on work done at the end of a fortnight; separate payment is made to each group.
A mate/worksite supervisor records the work completed and pays the workers accordingly.
Right from the start, there has been a strong emphasis on having a woman supervisor/mate who has completed Class V. Around 1,400 women workers were shortlisted.
Training was organised to familiarise the supervisors with their responsibilities in order to ensure successful implementation of the group-wise napi/payment system. The training was conducted over four months, between June and October 2007, and finally 943 women were identified as supervisors.
As a result of this system, workers are getting the stipulated daily wage rate of Rs 73.
The group napi/payment system has changed the work culture of Jalore. Workers are more positive about their work, quality of work has improved, and wages have risen significantly.
Toll-free helplines
The Union government has announced the setting up of a toll-free national helpline in New Delhi to answer questions related to the NREGS, and register complaints of malpractice. Complaints received on the helpline will be passed on to field-level NREGS authorities for immediate action. This will be closely monitored by the government. Complaints will be recorded for subsequent follow-up and action. The Ministry of Rural Development has also directed all states to set up local toll-free helplines to immediately address NREGS-related problems.
The proposed system will have the capability of handling at least 20,000 calls per month. All complaints will be entered in suitable software and stored for future retrieval. They will also be transmitted to other nodes in the network.
Meanwhile, the Ganjam district administration in Orissa has already started a toll-free helpline that people can use to get their questions about the NREGS answered and lodge complaints if necessary. The initiative has been handed over to an independent organisation, Nehru Yuva Kendra (NYK). The helpline service is run by volunteers of NYK who have been trained in the NREGS; they are also part of a quick-response team formed in each district. Every phone call that NYK receives is recorded and complaints are documented. C allers are given a reference number by which they can track any action being taken on their complaints.
A simple software has been developed locally for documentation and monitoring of complaints.
The information is passed on to the supervisory officer who has to take immediate action. A daily report on complaints and action taken is submitted to the district programme coordinator every evening.
Similarly, in Ranchi district, Jharkhand, the district administration has set up a toll-free helpline to get feedback on the NREGS. The helpline is also used to lodge complaints about other issues in the village such as water shortages and PDS-related problems.
For more information visit the Ranchi website
Daily reporting system through SMS
The Vilupurum district administration in Tamil Nadu has developed a novel method of maintaining accountability and transparency in the NREGS. A system was put in place at the worksite in villages where an authorised person will close the nominal muster rolls (NMR) by 11 am. The information recorded in the NMR is then immediately passed on from the village to the block level and then on to the district level.
It is extremely difficult to fudge the NMR once the total number of workers has been communicated to the monitoring office. The officer who inspects the site is directed to record details of the number of workers at the worksite (which has already been reported to the concerned authority at the district level by 11 am). The inspecting official does a headcount and verifies the figures with the NMR at the worksite. The system therefore acts as a daily audit of entries in the NMR.
Details such as the number of labourers in each village panchayat, number of female and male workers at each worksite, etc, are sent by SMS to the block- and district-level authorities. This helps convey accurate information on the number of workers at each site and reduces the scope for ‘ghost workers’. Based on the information received, a report is generated at the district level.
