This document summarizes key points from India's NREGA 2005 Operational Guidelines 2008 and provides feedback. It discusses [1] objectives of providing 100 days of guaranteed employment, focusing on households rather than individuals; [2] goals of acting as a social safety net and growth engine but implementation focuses on targets rather than demand; and [3] features around applying for work, minimum wages, and equal pay for men and women being difficult to implement. It provides suggestions around decentralizing planning and involving NGOs for facilitation and social audits to better achieve NREGA's objectives of empowerment and grassroots democracy.

1. NREGA 2005
Operational Guidelines 2008
- Policy and Programmatic Pointers
Jitesh Panda
Vrutti Livelihoods Resource Centre
11 June 2010

2. In Black Font:
Extracts from NREGA Operational Guidelines
2008
In Blue Font: Feedback and Suggestions

3. Objective of NREGA….
To enhance livelihood security in rural areas
by providing at least
100 days of guaranteed wage employment
in a financial year to every household
whose adult members volunteer
to do
unskilled manual work

4. Objectives of NREGA…
NREGA relates to
Entitlement
Demand focused but implemented in target driven
supply mode
Household
Focuses on whole HH not specific to Male or Female
Unskilled Manual Work
Unskilled Wage Earners keen on graduating to take up
Skill Work
In era of mechanization, it is not logical to do hard
unskilled Manual Work

5. Goals of NREGA….
Social Safety Net – A fall back employment source
May be working at GP/Area level
Employment scenarios vary with HH/Individual
NREGA is yet to be HH/Individual focused
Influence regular source of employment source
In many places, increase in wage rate has led to unavailability of
labour for agriculture production
Growth Engine for Sustainable Development of Agriculture
Economy
Assets developed at community level; Benefits land owners
Most of the wage seekers have no/little agriculture land

6. Goals of NREGA….
Rights based approach to Empowerment
Demand led rights based approach requires time;
However, orientation of implementation is on
achieving target of wage creation, more so when
there is no target under Act
Institutional mechanism to facilitate expression of
demand not in place
Model of Governance – principles of transparency
and grassroots democracy
Has made a difference at GP level; Need to move
further to Village and HH level

7. Salient Features of NREGA…
Submit written application for employment
Most wage earners are illiterate; Facilitation support
generally not available
Need to state time and duration for which work is
sought
Difficult for Wage seekers to predict when their
regular work would resume;
As wage rate is higher, they take risk and go for
maximum opportunity;
At times disturbs the regular labor market, local
agriculture production

8. Salient Features of NREGA…
Minimum days of employment to be fourteen
In some cases, during agriculture season, it is difficult
to think of minimum 14 days
Work to be provided within 5 Kms of village
Most wage seekers prefer to work in own or
neighboring village
Wages to be paid as per Minimum Wage Act 1948
In most cases Minimum Wage is higher than market
rate; and thus distort to regular livelihood activities
Being Entitlement oriented, demand driven; the wage
need to be lower than prevailing market rate

9. Salient Features of NREGA…
Equal Wage for Men and Women
In practice difficult to execute; when work is
undertaken in group and paid on piece rate basis
Weekly disbursement of Wage
Most Wage Seekers expect wage on daily basis
At least 1/3rd of beneficiary need to be women
As it is 100 days per HH; Always preference for male
to go out for work and then female goes
Distinction may be made at HH level

10. Salient Features of NREGA…
Wage on piece rate basis
Many a times work out to be lower that minimum wage
Issues related accurate and timely measurement
Work recommended by Gram Sabha; Approved by Zilla
Panchyat
Limited scope for Individual Work
Scope for further decentralization in decision making process
Social Audit by Gram Sabha
Could be done by Palli Sabha;
Need for facilitating Agency

11. Key Stakeholders….
Wage seekers
Gram Sabha
PRIs, specially the Gram Panchayat
Inadequate capacity – institutional and technical
Programme Officer at the block level
District Programme Coordinator
State Government
Ministry of Rural Development
NGOs not viewed as Key Stakeholder
NGOs could facilitate mobilization of demand for NREGA

12. Communication of NREGA…
The State Government should draw upan IEC Plan
Focus on communication through TV, radios, films,
print media
Need to be decentralized
Possibility of involvement of local NGOs could be
explored
Besides communication – hand holding facilitation is
required; As most job seekers are illiterate

13. Development Plan for NREGA…
Covers
Assessment of labour demand
Identification of works to meet the estimated labour demand
Estimated Cost of works and wages
Benefits expected in terms of employment generated and physical
improvements (water conservation, land productivity)
Focus on District Perspective Plan
Need linkage with other District Level Plans
Need to have Village Perspective Plan with clarity on Individual Job
Seeker HH Plan
Overall may relate to livelihood promotion perspective/aspiration at
different level – Individual, HH, Village, GP, Block and district
Thrust may be on individual/HH work and then on higher level

14. Permissible Works under NREGA…
Water conservation and water harvesting
Drought proofing, including afforestation and tree
plantation
Irrigation canals, including micro and minor irrigation
works
Provision of irrigation facility, plantation, horticulture,
land development to land owned by households
belonging to the SC/ST, or to land of the beneficiaries
of land reforms, or to land of the beneficiaries under
the Indira Awas Yojana/BPL families
Scope related to this may be broadened to include all
Job Seekers

15. Permissible Works under NREGA…
Renovation of traditional water bodies,
including de-silting of tanks;
Land development;
Flood-control and protection works, including
drainage in waterlogged areas;
Rural connectivity to provide all-weather
access
Most of works are community level works
benefitting agriculture land owners

16. Monitoring…
Gram Sabha will monitor all the works at the
village level
Vigilance and Monitoring Committee (VMC)
from amongst Gram Sabha - for every Work
Need for a Facilitating Agency – may be NGO
Need for outsourced Concurrent Monitoring
Agency at block level

17. Evaluation….
District-wise studies to be conducted or
commissioned by the State Employment Guarantee
Council
Block-wise evaluation studies should be conducted or
commissioned by the District Programme Coordinator
SEGC should seek the association of research
institutions of repute with this process.
All evaluation agencies should be approved by SEGC
Need for Annual Evaluation Studies at GP level; As
GP is the key planning and implementation unit
Need for District focused Outsourced Evaluation
agency for about 3 years

18. Social Audit…
As a means of continuous public vigilance
Social Audit viewed in broader sense from
planning to the implementation, monitoring
and evaluation
In practice, it looks at post implementation
phase
NGOs facilitate Social Audit

19. Convergence…
Convergence of the NREGA funds with funds from other
sources for the creation of durable assets is permissible
NREGA funds do not substitute for resources from other sectors
or schemes
NREGA fund share intended to create additional employment;
this will not happen if the employment currently generated by
other programmes is displaced by the NREGS
There has been thrust on convergence
In practice, NREGA funds is considered as programme fund for
other Departments

20. Overall Reflection Points….
Considering guarantee of Unskilled Manual Work in era of
mechanization as entitlement
Wage under NREGA being higher than market rate, when it is
viewed from entitlement perspective; and is likely to distort the
market (particularly long term agriculture production)
Implementation of NREGA be target/ supply driven when the Act
focuses on entitlement and being demand driven
Possibility of involvement of NGOs as Facilitation Agencies;
besides facilitating Social Audit
Focusing on planning and implementation of works that benefit
the “Beneficiary/Wage Seeking HHs”

21. Thank you