National
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS)
PRELIMINARY
The Government of India passed the National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 in September, 2005. The Act gives legal
guarantee of a hundred days of wage employment in a financial year to adult
members of a rural household who demand employment and are willing to do
unskilled manual work. The Act will be applicable
to areas notified by the Central Government. The objective of the Act is to
enhance the livelihood security of the people in the rural areas by generating
wage employment through works that develop the
infrastructure base of that area.
Launching of Scheme
The Govt. of India had notified the National Rural Employment Guarantee
Act (NREGA) w.e.f. February 2nd, 2006. Section 4(1) of the National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 stipulates that every State Govt. shall notify a
scheme and therefore, "Haryana Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme" had
been formulated in accordance with the operational guidelines and provisions of
the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005. The said scheme had also been
notified in the Haryana Government Gazette (extra), March, 16, 2007 by the State
Government.
Launching of Scheme
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has been launched by Govt. of India in all Gram Panchayats of
districts Mahendergarh and Sirsa on 2nd
February, 2006 and this scheme has also been extended in two more districts
namely Ambala & Mewat w.e.f. 1st April, 2007. The remaining
16 districts of the State are being covered under the scheme w.e.f. 1.4.2008..
Objectives
Enhancement of livelihood security to the
households in rural areas of the State by providing round the year employment
with minimum guarantee of one hundred days of wage employment in a
financial year to every household volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
Secondary objective includes creation of assets for development of
rural areas.
Cost Sharing
Financial assistance shall be provided by Central and State Governments
in the ratio of 90:10 respectively.
Target Group
·
Scheme is open to all rural households who are in
need of wage employment and desire to do manual and unskilled work.
·
Period of employment should ordinarily be atleast
fourteen days continuously with not more than six days in a week.
·
Priority to works where atleast one third of wage
seekers are women.
·
Persons desirous for work may submit their
applications to the Gram Panchayat.
·
Gram Panchayat shall register the household. After
verification, job card is to be issued to the applicant household.
·
Gram Panchayat or Block Programme Officer shall
provide unskilled manual work to the applicant within fifteen days of receipt of
application preferably within a radius of 5 kilometers of the village, where the
applicant resides. In case the employment is provided outside such radius, it
must be provided within the B lock and the labourers shall be paid 10% of the
wage rate as extra wages to meet additional transportation and living expenses.
Programme Strategy
The programme will be implemented through Panchayati Raj Institutions.
The Block Programme Officer shall allot fifty-percent works in terms cost to the
Gram Panchayat. Gram Sabha shall recommend works and the Gram Panchayat shall
identify/approve the works for implementation.
The Block Programme Officer will scrutinize the Annual Plan. The
Panchayat Samiti will maintain the priority of works indicated by the Gram
Panchayat and approve the Block level Plan.
The Deputy Commissioner is designated as District Programme Coordinator
for implementation of the Act/Scheme in the district. The Additional Deputy
Commissioner shall act as Additional District Programme Coordinator. The DPO
shall scrutinize the plan proposals of the Panchayat Samitis. The whole exercise
shall be completed by DPO before end of February each year.
Focus Areas- Type of works
The focus of the programme shall
be on the following works in their order of priority:-
i)
Water conservation and water harvesting
ii)
Drought Proofing. Afforestation and tree plantation
including horticulture in community lands and
in the lands belonging to
Scheduled Castes and the beneficiaries of land reforms, small and marginal
farmers.
iii)
Irrigation canals including micro and minor
irrigation works such as desilting of minor irrigation channels, canals,
distributaries, construction of minor irrigation tanks.
iv)
Provision of irrigation facility to land owned by
households belonging to Scheduled Castes or to land beneficiaries of land
reforms or that of the beneficiaries under Indira Awaas Yojana of the Government
of India.
v)
Renovation of traditional water bodies including
desilting of tanks.
vi)
Land development
vii)
Flood Control and protection works including
drainage in water logged areas
viii)
Rural connectivity to provide all weather access. The construction of
roads may include culverts where necessary and
within the village area may be taken up alongwith drains.
ix)
The State Government may notify any other work in
consultation with the Central Government.
Wages
Under the scheme, minimum agricultural wages of Rs.135/- per manday notified by the State
Govt. w.e.f.
1st July, 2007 are being paid equal to men and women workers. The payment of wages
is being made on weekly or
fortnightly basis.
Unemployment Allowance
Unemployment allowance shall be payable
if employment is not provided within 15 days of the receipt of the
application. The rate of employment allowance shall be one forth
of the wage rate for the
first thirty days and not less than one half of the
wage rate for the remaining period.
Unemployment allowance shall not be paid if the applicant does not report for
work within fifteen days or adult members of the household received atleast one
hundred days of work during the financial year.
Wage and Non Wage Ratio
Wage and Non Wage Ratio for the
district shall be 60:40.
Muster Rolls
Muster rolls for each work is
required to be maintained.
Ban on Contractors
Engagement of contractors and
use of labour displacing machines are banned.
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