NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT 2005

1. NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT 2005

2. Structure of the Presentation • NREGA Coverage • NREGA Process • Paradigm Shift: From SGRY to NREGA

3. National Rural Employment Guarantee Act,2005 For the enhancement of livelihood security of rural households by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work

4. NREGA COVERAGE Backward Districts(150) (Most backward Ranked by Planning Commission) Phase I NREGA(200) (commenced 2.02.06) Phase II NREGA(130) (extended on 1.4.07) Phase III NREGA(266) (notified on 28.9.07)

5. NREGA Process

6. Application for Registration Step 1: Application for Registration • Unit of Entitlement is the Household. • Registration application made to local Gram Panchayat. • Application may be in a form prescribed or a plain paper • Prescribed form is free of cost and easily available at GP • Oral applications may also be submitted

7. Verification of the Registration Application Step 2: Verification of the Registration Application The Gram Panchayat will verify the application on the basis of: (i) local domicile (ii) All household members applying for registration are adult - No discrimination is made in registration in terms of caste, creed, gender - Single Women living alone may register independently - NREGA is not confined to BPL families

8. Registration for Job Card Step 3: After verification, the house hold will be registered • Unit of Registration: Household (HH) • The names of adult members applying will be noted Registration Register

9. Issue of Job Card Step 4: Issue of Job Card • Basic legal document valid for five years. Enables registered household to demand guaranteed employment • Issued to a registered household as a whole • Household Job Card will have photograph & name of each registered adult member of the household on it • Cost of Job Card including photograph will be borne by the programme • Should be issued within 15 days of application.

10. Format of Job Card • Must have space for entering vital data that must be regularly entered that includes: - Unique registration number • Days of employment demanded • Days worked • Amount paid • Job Cards issuedwill be entered in a Job Card register in the Gram Panchayat

11. Demand Process: Application for Employment Step 5. Application for Employment • Household with Job Card has the right to submit a written application for employment to the Gram Panchayat • Any member may apply: More than one member of a family may apply at the same time (subject to 100 day family entitlement) • Applicant may chose the time and duration when employment is sought • Application must state day from which employment is sought and duration • Application must be for a minimum of 15 days of employment

12. Guarantee Process : Acknowledgement of Application for Employment Step 6: Issue of Dated Receipt • Employment application will be entered in an Employment Register in the Gram Panchayat • The Gram Panchayat has to issue a Dated Receipt of the written application for employment

13. Guarantee Process :Allocation of Employment Step 7: Allocation of Employment • Employment within 15 days of work application or date from which employment is sought, which ever is later • If applicant does not report for work no unemployment allowance payable • Can reapply • Employment within 5 km radius of village. 10% of the wage rate as extra wages paid if distance more than 5 km • Intimation of work provided has to be sent in writing & through public notice at the Village Panchayat office

14. Payment of Unemployment Allowance • If Employment is not provided within 15 days, daily unemployment allowance, in cash has to be paid. • States will pay the Unemployment Allowance at their own cost

15. Planning of Works • Planning of works to allocate employment within guaranteed time • Works selected from the list of permissible works under Schedule I of the Act • Permissible works are as follows: -Water Conservation -Drought Proofing( including plantation and afforestation) -Flood Protection -Land Development -Minor Irrigation, horticulture and land development on the land of SC/ST/ -BPL/IAY and Land reform beneficiaries -Rural connectivity • 60:40 ratio of wages and materials to be maintained May be maintained at the district level.

16. Planning Process Decentralised, Participatory Process. PRIs principal role • Gram SabhasInitiate Planning process and recommend works • Gram Panchayat consolidate recommendations of Gram Sabha into Village Development Plans and forward to intermediate Panchayat level • Intermediate Panchayat: Programme Officer will consolidate Gram Panchayat Plans into Block Plans with addition of works that cut across gram panchayats for approval of Intermediate Panchayat • District Panchayat: District Programme Coordinator will consolidate Block Proposals and proposals received from other implementing agencies for inclusion in the shelf of projects to be approved by the District Panchayat

17. Execution of Work Implementing Agencies • No fixed percentage allocation of works as in SGRY:50-GP/30 –IP/20-ZP • At least 50 % of the works has to be allotted to Gram Panchayats • Other Implementing Agencies: -Other Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) -Line departments (PWD, Forest Dept.) -NGOs -SHGs • Private contractors are banned

18. Payment of Wages • Statutory minimum wage for agricultural labourers in the state, unless the Central Government “notifies” a minimum wage not less than Rs. 60/day • Wages paidweekly, or in any case not later than a fortnight • Only Cash

19. Mandatory Worksite Facilities • Drinking water • Shade • Medical aid • Creche if more than five children below age 6 are present Note: These facilities are to be provided by the implementing agency

20. Public Accountability • GS will conduct social audits of all works taken up within GP • All accounts and records relating to the Scheme are to be made available for public scrutiny and any person desirous of obtaining a copy of such records may be provided such copies on demand and after paying specified fee • A copy of muster rolls of each work has to be made available at Gram Panchayat & to Programme Officer [at the Block level] for inspection by any person interested after paying specified fee • DPCs, Pos and GPs to Prepare Annual Report

21. EGS: Cost sharing • Central Government to pay for: • wage costs, • 75% of material costs, and • some administrative costs. • State governments to pay for: • 25% of material costs • other administrative costs, • unemployment allowance.

22. Paradigm Shift: From SGRY to NREGA

25. Thematic Discussion

26. Roles, functions and responsibilities of key agencies

27. Agencies with Critical Functions • Gram Sabha: • Panchayats: Principal agencies for planning and implementation • Gram Panchayat : basic unit of implementation. • In each Block, a Programme Officer is to coordinate the implementation of EGS • District Programme Coordinator at district level:Collector /CEO • State Employment Guarantee Council

34. Deployment and Training of Personnel

35. Positioning key personnel • District Programme Coordinator( DPC ) • Programme Officer (P.O.) • A Gram Rozgar Sewak at the GP level (local, 12th pass) - Registration -Verification of registration applications - Issue of Job Cards - Receiving applications for employment - Issue of dated receipts for employment applications -Reporting Demand to the Programme Officer so that work may be allotted to the implementing agency - Informing the applicants to report for work - Ensuring payments are made on time to the workers. - Reporting work progress and all other matters to the Programme Officer on a regular weekly basis.

36. Key Functional Areas for deployment of additional full time dedicated personnel

38. Administrative expenses permissible under the 4% financial limit • Information Education Communication (IEC) • Training • MIS • Quality supervision: This includes monitoring and verification (specially muster roll verification) evaluation, Social Audit. Quality Monitors at the State, District and Block levels. • Setting up grievance redressal systems • Engaging professional services • Operational Expenses: Office expenses related to the implementation of NREGS • Stationery related to computational processes/MIS. • Additional Staffing dedicated to NREGS in key functional areas of the Scheme at the Gram Panchayat/Block/District levels

39. Expenditure not permissible under the 4% administrative limit • Salaries/ remunerations/honoraria of functionaries already engaged by the Government/ PRIs / any other implementing agency. • Personnel, other than indicated by the Ministry. • Purchase of new vehicles and repair of old vehicles. • Civil works

40. Administrative expenses apart from 4% limit • Expenditure on workers engaged to look after crèche on site/carry water - To be separately charged to unskilled wage cost -Not to be included as part of the work – measurement. • One time expenses: Separate from the 4% permissible limit. -Preparation of Perspective Plan - Printing of job cards, photography -Augmentation of computational facilities at the Block and district level. -Almirahs for record-keeping and functional furniture at GP, Block and District-levels

41. Administrative expense as function of total expenditure • 4% administrative expense: a function of the total expenditure under NREGA resulting into creation of person days in a financial year • Need for a Management Plan to monitor total programme expenditure and outcomes to leverage appropriate management support to it

42. Training Key Functionaries for their Roles and Responsibilities

43. Activities under Training • Training calendar to be drawn up: Training load/Time • Training modules to be calibrated in content and process according to different stakeholders • Training materials: - Act & National NREGA Guidelines in local language - Manuals/ Hand books with FAQs * on different components *for different target groups -Films • Osmosis Process for Training. -District Resource Group -Block Resource Group -Village resource group • Integrated Groups of different stake holders for core components( Programme Processes) • Separate Groups for specific skill sets(IT/Works/Accnts)

44. Components of Training • Enabling Local Communities to know their Rights under the Act • Procedures for registration and issue of Job Card • Procedures for employment application • Procedures for Planning and Executing Works • Maintenance of Muster rolls • Norms of Measurement • Wage Payment • Update of Job Cards • Maintenance of Records, data, Reports • Maintenance of Accounts • Unemployment Allowance • Social Audit • RTI

45. Impact Assessment of training • Concurrent assessment of the impact of the training programme to ensure that all key responsible agencies - Understand the provisions of the Act, - Their respective roles in it - Have the skills to implement it. • Reiterative Cycles of training using the feedback

46. Social Mobilization Building Awareness and Involving Stakeholders

47. Building Awareness:Information, Education and Communication ( IEC) • Key Target Groups: • Local work force engaged in manual labour • Poor rural households • SC/ST/women/ minorities • Remote habitations • Drawing up an IEC Plan • Preparation of Communication material on NREGA processes in simple local language

48. Information Dissemination • An intensive One day orientation of all Sarpanches at the Block level • A Gram Sabha in every village to acquaint local people with the key provisions of the Act. Participation of beneficiaries be ensured • One day be fixed & publicised as Rozgar Diwas • Use of multi media; • TV and radio where ever possible. • Print media –local vernacular newspapers. • Pamphlets and brochures in simple local language with Graphics. • Local cultural forms, like puppetry, folk theatre and music may be used at the village level

49. Information Dissemination • District personnel teams mobilised to camp and night halt in villages • Information counters in the local Market days using audio-video material • Village Information Wall • NGOs to facilitate awareness generation • Help Line - Telephone numbers of key officials publicized

50. Important aspects of NREGA forCommunication • Guarantee of 100 days of employment upon Demand • Application Process for registration and Job Card. • Written application for demanding employment • Dated receipt of the application for employment by the Gram Panchayat. • Unskilled manual Work to be provided within 15 days of demand. • If employment is not provided within fifteen days of application, unemployment allowance will be paid by the State Government • Minimum wages for agricultural labour to be paid within 15 days of work completion • Workers have the right to check their muster rolls. .