NREGA-promise unfulfilled.

Not Again – Another high Profile Welfare Scheme fails.

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) was dubbed as mother

of all centrally sponsored schemes. The scheme had support of all the allies of the new coalition partners when the new government took over power in May 2004.

NREGA promised to remove poverty in rural areas by ensuring atleast 100 days of employment to rural poor with fixed wages. The idea was to provide livelihood option to the exploited unemployed millions living in rural area and create assets and infrastructure for sustainable growth and development.

Initially 200 out of 600 districts were short listed for implementation of this scheme. Backwardness was the sole criteria and hence country’s most backward districts found place in the first list. Later, looking at the funds allocation the politicians of all hues and colours started lobbying to get their favourite bastions included in the list. When Rahul Gandhi, a heir of Gandhi dynasty, raised the issue in the parliament, the govt. decided to extend this scheme and cover all the districts in the country.

Till now every thing seemed perfect. The opposition party was skeptical, that with this scheme the ruling coalition will gain a great mileage in the electoral battles as people would have benefited through the scheme and developed sympathy towards the leaders who designed this sort of welfare scheme of wage employment. But history repeats itself fast, especially when big bucks are involved. A former Prime Minister had said that only about 15 percent funds reach the ultimate beneficiary. The balance is siphoned out or utilized for other activities in its long journey from Delhi to the village poor in a distant district.

Controller and Auditor general of India had earlier come out with the evaluation report of NREGS which points to even worse scenario like:

• More than 90 percent funds seem to have been diverted or misused.

• Funds have been allocated to NGOs and contractors against the norms.

• Fraudulent or no proper muster rolls prepared

It is high time that the government abandons the idea of fooling people with grand schemes of social welfare, poverty alleviation etc. Instead the people will be better of if government only concentrates on creating durable infrastructure like road, electricity, drinking water supplies. Poor people will rid themselves of poverty even by simple measures like self help groups and micro finance.