Where it’s falling short

Council Members Jean Dreze and Annie Raja have identified some gaping holes that needed to be plugged immediately.

• Lack of awareness: Most rural labourers who have job cards are not aware of the fact that they must apply for a job in order to get employment under NREGA as it is a “demand-driven” programme. This is the reason behind low rates of employment in some districts.

• Shortage of staff: Like in the Food for Work Programme, there is shortage of staff at all levels of the NREGA. The responsibilities of the programme officer at the block level have been assigned to the Block Development Officer who is already overworked. Most states are yet to appoint Gram Rozgaar Sevaks at the Gram Panchayat level. “Without adequate staff, NREGA cannot succeed,” the members wrote.

• Inadequate provision for administrative expenses: The shortage of staff is a reflection of the fact that financial allocation for administrative expenses is yet to be raised from 2 per cent.

• Weak redressal procedures: The existing procedures for recording and redressing grievances under NREGA are very weak. It is the same authorities who are responsible for redressal too. There are no explicit and automatic penalties even for gross violations of the Act, such as refusing an application for work. Stronger redressal procedures need to be put in place.