• Status of NREGA implementation
• Send utilisation certificates and audit reports on NREGS on time
• Finance ministry opposes hike in administrative expenditure

Status of NREGA implementation
In February 2007, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) completes a year of being implemented. Till December 2006, 5,81,443 people benefited from the scheme, which employs more than 1 per cent of India’s population. Starting as a wage-employment scheme, NREGA is fast emerging as an effective village development programme.

Analysis of the trends under NREGA demonstrates a substantial progress during August-December 2006 in terms of number of jobs guaranteed and works undertaken. However, NREGA should be judged on the basis of its focus on creation of productive assets that contribute to village development in the long term.

These tables give a statistical update on various issues related to NREGA.

Table 1: Nature of physical asset creation
Under NREGA there is a list of preferred works that must be undertaken using the employment opportunity. The table details exact works to be undertaken in each of the preferred works.

 

Source: Union ministry of rural development

 

Table 2: Total progress in work from August-December 2006

On overall work-wise progress, NREGA has registered around 106 per cent growth in the last five months. The progress in the number of completed works is 11 per cent while it is 392 per cent in terms of number of ongoing works. In many states the scheme had a late start due to various reasons. This explains the large number of works in progress.

Source: Union ministry of rural development

Table 3: Percentages break up of preferred works to total works

Though there has been an increase in the number of works under water conservation, in comparison to the total number of works under NREGA, this has come down by around 3.5 per cent in the last five months. In all other components, there is a marked increase. Flood control and drought proofing remain the two least preferred works.
Water conservation accounts for 52.7 per cent of the total works till December. Seven states have not undertaken any work on water conservation. On the other hand, 10 states account for 91 per cent of total water conservation works under NREGA. This points to the fact that focus on water conservation is not uniform across the 27 states implementing NREGA.

Source: Union ministry of rural development

Table 4: Progress trend in preferred works during Aug-Dec 2006

The table shows the progress made in specific preferred works under NREGA
 

Source: Union ministry of rural development

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Send utilisation certificates and audit reports on NREGS on time
Due to increasing complaints pertaining to delays in the release of funds under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), the Union ministry of rural development (MoRD) has asked states to submit their respective utilisation certificates and audit reports on time.

In a letter (dated January 9, 2007) to all the 27 state rural development secretaries, the MoRD said that many districts had not enclosed the fund utilisation certificate for 2006-7 and the audit report for 2005-6 along with the proposal for work under NREGS. The letter also asked states to submit the proposals in the prescribed format.
 

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Finance ministry opposes hike in administrative expenditure
The Union ministry of finance has opposed the Union ministry of rural development’s move to hike the level of administrative expenditure under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) from 2 per cent to 5 per cent. During the winter session of Parliament, Union minister of rural development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh had announced the decision of the expenditure and finance committee (ministry of finance) to raise the administrative expenditure. Sidelining the committee’s decision, the finance ministry has stated that it was willing to concede only up to 4 per cent of the administrative cost under NREGA.

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