Social activists who worked closely with Sonia Gandhi in conceptualising the NREGS in the UPA’s first term found themselves kept in the dark on Tuesday on what the government is planning for the next stage of the scheme.

Jean Dreze and Aruna Roy, who participated in the meeting of the Central Employment Guarantee Council (CEGC) to discuss steps to be taken for diversification of works under the NREGS, were bluntly told by Rural Development Minister C P Joshi that the CEGC was merely an advisory body and the final authority on decisions rested with the ministry.

The blueprint for the next stage of implementation of the NREGS is to be unveiled on the birth anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on August 20.

Expressing her “utter confusion” over the items taken up for consideration at the CEGC, of which she is a member, Roy said: “The meeting was too short to discuss the whole gamut of issues related with the diversification of the scheme.” Joshi assured them a full-day meeting on these issues at a later date.

The ministry had identified “social infrastructure” items like construction of toilet pits and individual latrines for BPL families under the Total Sanitation Campaign, construction of houses for BPL families under the Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) and tribal sub-plan, and building of playgrounds, mini-stadiums and anganwadis for inclusion as works under the NREGS. It has also identified a “social services” category, including proposals like employment of NREGS labour for cooking of mid-day meals, running of crèches as well as for cooking of meals for children below three years of age in adjoining anganwadis, as well as barefoot engineers for planning of works under the NREGS.