Gender issues
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Use of Machinery and Relative labour and material costsIn Bisra block of Sundergarh, there is very high usage of machinery, and some workers told us that the labour:machine ratio is 20:80. In Orissa, there was one site were there was a genuine need to use machines to cut and lift stones. This became the excuse to use machines elsewhere. In Mayurbhanj too, in some places machines are also in use. Apart from this, we did not find the use of machines. At the Seminar, we were told that in Kukudakhandi Block, Ganjam district, Orissa, the work was done by machines at night under the cover of darkness by contractors or VLLs, and records were fudged to show 60:40 labour:material ratio. The use of machinery by VLL-Contractors is widely reported in Orissa. However, the Act not only bans Contractors but also restricts the use of machinery (to the extent practicable) and sets out an upper limit of 40 per cent on the material component (including wages of skilled and semi-skilled workers) in total costs. There is an additional disincentive against high material costs in the financial pattern, with the Centre meeting only 75 per cent of the material costs, leaving the rest to the States. In order to minimize the State’s expenditure, Tamil Nadu and Orissa have asked the P.Os. to keep the material component as close to zero as possible. BDOs warned Panchayats that their projects would be rejected if the material component was ‘high’ even if it was within the permissible limit of 40 per cent. The second issue is the level at which this ratio is imposed each project, the GP, Block or District? Those who argue in favour of its application at the most disaggregated level of each individual Project or at least GP, say that otherwise there would be a tendency to concentrate capital-intensive works in areas where influential people live; and the less assertive areas will be deprived of capitalintensive assets. While this argument certainly has some merit, means of production are very important and over-specification and rigidity at the Project level will tend to reduce the choice of works that can be taken up and deny a variety in the chosen works. Therefore, the district level seems most appropriate. In West Bengal, we came across an opposite problem. Work had to be stopped at a worksite in Bankura (one which the DM was aware of) because the dug soil had piled up too high and there was a lot of it lying around the boundary. Workers refused to walk too far at the existing rate, and in any case, there was no place to throw more earth. This was a clear case for using additional trucks and labour, but the Panchayat came up with an innovative solution: to approach local brick kilns to pick and use the soil. Unemployment allowanceThe one thing that puts fear into the hearts of the local and Block administration is the provision for payment of unemployment allowance. The states are liable for this expense, since the state government is the implementing authority and the legal guarantor of the employment. At the moment, the financial aspect is not really at issue since after an initial delay in transferring funds to the states, the shoe is now on the other foot and there is gross underutilization of funds by the states (discussed separately in this Report). However, there is a genuine problem faced by all states about generating earth works in the rainy season, a problem that get exacerbated for those states that fall in the humid and semi-humid high rainfall areas and are flood prone. Only afforestation and limited road construction activities can be undertaken from the list of permissible works. Another deterrent in building all-weather roads is the labour : material ratio. What most states have chosen to do is to effectively suspend the guarantee in the rainy season. This has meant the state Schemes circumscribe the right to the unemployment allowance in some circumstances like the monsoons or heavy rains. Another issue in the payment of unemployment allowance is that the states have told officials that they will be held personally liable for any cases where unemployment allowance has to be paid. This has resulted in the lower bureaucracy’s vested interest in subverting the demand driven aspect of this Scheme. They do not encourage applications; if at all some applications are made, they do not issue dated receipts. Shortage of Staff There is an acute shortage of administrative staff: Necessary recruitment for the implementation of the NREGS has not yet been done, from the gram panchayat level, upwards. Therefore the existing staff is overburdened. At the worksite level, the mate is a very important factor in determining the people’s ability to avail their entitlements. People are quite unclear about the procedure for appointment of mates, the qualification they must possess, their work and wage. Often, they are relatives of the engineers. Most workers suggested the mate should be one literate person from amongst them. Every village must have a Gram Sevak or Village Level Worker, who is a full time government employee under the National Extension Services. In addition, each GP must have an Executive Officer. Also, the two streams of village workers, namely the Village Agricultural Worker or Executive Officer report to the Agricultural Department, and the Gram Sevaks to the BDO. This often results in lack of co-ordination. The other major impediment is the lack of technical personnel for surveys, design, estimation and technical sanction. The suggestion from both Orissa and Tamil Nadu is to have one tecnical assistant per 15 GPs. West Bengal has adopted a very innovative approach by setting up multi-disciplinary inter-departmental cells in districts under the stewardship of the DM. These cells divide the tasks, and many simple tasks are assigned to non-Engineer technical staff. It is necessary to put in place the Programme Officer as envisaged in the Act, since it is not possible for the existing officials to continuously bear the responsibility of NREGS. However, there is one concern that was expressed to us in all the states. They were very concerned about devolving so much power to a contractual employee, and would prefer to stick to the BDO as PO. Without the necessary staff in place, it is impossible to implement the Scheme in its true spirit. In Maharashtra officials recommended the reinstatement of the post of ‘muster clerk’ to supervise the works on site, and ensure its proper implementation. The Nandurbar Collector made an important suggestion about the post of a muster assistant who was formerly appointed by the Maharashtra Government under the old EGS, his job was to record presence and work and payment of wages. The government later abolished this post. In their absence, the Scheme was progressively contractualised and lost its earlier demand driven approach. There was simply no person to handle the administrative work, which then passed on to the level of agricultural assistants, etc who are few in number. However, there is the additional aspect of terms of employment that is already showing up. In Tamil Nadu, for example, the Panchayat Assistants feel resentful because they receive a salary of Rs 800 per month, as opposed to the Computer Operators who get Rs 2000 per month. In any case, these are considered political appointments, with the present government reportedly dismissing everyone hired by the previous regime. These issues need sorting out. The states also said that appointments take time and they require a few more months. Orissa has decided to appoint one Computer Assistant, one Gram Assistant in each village, and a JE exclusively for the NREGS in each Block. BDOs will also be authorized to hire CAs on contract. Most states want to only make temporary appointments, and are worried that there may be demands for regularization. They had no response when we asked them the rationale behind this, since the NREGS was empowered by a Central Act and here to stay, and therefore there was no reason to hire on a temporary basis. For all this, the administrative costs need to be much higher, perhaps closer to 6 per cent of the total cost of the Scheme. Developing Dynamics? In villages with a high degree of inequality, both on caste and class lines, the EGA is unleashing a new political dynamic. The big farmers are very worried that workers will now become more “independent”, or “demand higher wages”, or not work against loan advances since high interest is an important form of under payment. The upper caste landlords have reacted in one (or all) of the following ways: where they control panchayats and wield an influence on the local administration, they have (a) ensured no works during the agricultural season (b) restrict the number of eligible workers per households (c) diverted workers to their own fields while showing them on NREGS muster rolls. Dalits in Tamil Nadu complained that the upper caste Sarpanch did not inform them when the registration started and the photographs were taken. They only got to know when they saw the women from upper caste landed households dressed in their fineries go out together towards the School building, which is in the heart of the main village. They then came rushing from the ‘colony’ towards the school, to find out what the fuss was all about. They then demanded to be photographed too, but had to wait till the upper caste households were photographed. After the upper castes were photographed, however, the photographer left! The Dalit women told us that the family of the Sarpanch got photographed first, amid great fanfare! Not once had these upper caste and landed persons worked in earth works under the FFWP or the JRY. The predominance of women workers in the Scheme and payment into individual accounts in their names gave rise to interesting dynamics in the village. Most workers at NREGS worksites are largely landless Dalit women. They are the only ones desperate enough to work for the abysmally low wages earned under this Scheme. Men in the village (not only from their household or community) objected to accounts solely in the names of the women and the control it gives them over the household finances. They demanded joint accounts for the husband and wife. They couched their insecurity in two arguments: they claimed they wanted to prevent “marital discord” which was inevitable if women got too much “financial independence”; and two, they wanted to protect the women from being cheated and loosing their money. Both arguments one patriarchal and the other paternalistic were dismissed there and then by the women! They argued that their children would go hungry if the men got the money, which would reach the liquor vendors instead. They also said that handling Post Office accounts was a much less daunting proposition than the hard earth over which they break their backs to earn less than half the minimum wage. Janaki amma put it very graphically: “If we can walk 15 kilometers to fetch water, you think we don’t know how to drink it?” There is also a fear amongst the brick kiln owners and the jasmine cultivators in Tamil Nadu that they will loose their labour, tied for generations through debt advances, working for a pittance. Obviously, the NREGS is not being implemented in a vacuum and social and political factors play a very important role in its success. While there are several forces and vested interests that work to undermine it, there are others that strengthen it. In general, workers’ ability to access their entitlements is determined by four factors:
In those areas where organizations of the poor like agricultural workers unions, farmers’ organizations, women’s organizations are active, there is a greater awareness of rights and the minimum features of the NREGS. There are more flash points of conflict with the bureaucracy and the rural elite, and there is also a greater pressure on the bureaucracy to deliver. Worksite Information Board / Facilities Descriptive boards were found at NREGA worksites in all the States with the notable exception of Maharashtra. The Act provides for four minimal worksite facilities: childcare, shade, drinking water and first aid. In Maharashtra, we did not find a single crèche in operation, nor were women workers aware of the provision. At Rui and Shekapur, toddlers were not seen, but small children in the age group 5+ were found to be working, as mentioned elsewhere in this Report. We asked women what they did if they had small children; they said they were looked after either by elders, or in their absence, the older sibling. Many women said that they welcomed the idea of a crèche at the worksite; it would definitely address a very fundamental need of working women. However, it appears that the provision of a crèche is not a priority in the implementation of the Scheme. For one thing, the crèche is to be provided if there are at least 5 children at the worksite. But the lack of information itself means that women leave children behind at home, so this becomes an excuse for the administration not to provide for them. But often the greatest stumbling block is the attitude of the officials. This was exemplified by the District Forest Officer, Nanded, an IFS officer of the rank of Deputy Conservator of Forests. When we asked him about the provision of crèches on EGS sites run by the Forest Department, his reply is worth quoting: “These all are good things, best on paper”, he said, “these are conditions imposed by elite people. These people are used to working in such conditions; it is we who introduce them to such alien concepts”. It is unlikely that a bureaucrat who carries such a view will make an effort to ensure that crèches are provided at worksites run by his department. It was therefore not surprising that the Tehsildar, Mahur and other officials have virtually ignored the provision for crèche, to the detriment of the women workers. From our discussion with women at worksites and in the village, we found that the most important reason they did not bring children (unless they were breastfed infants) was because they did not know about the facility and even if they knew there was uncertainty about the number of children who would come. SHGs could systematize the process so that usually there were enough children to justify a person to look after them, and on the odd day when this did not happen, the administration could provide childcare anyway.
*Migrants from village Sakur As far as provision of drinking water at worksites in Maharashtra is concerned, although all sites had employed women to fetch water, it was pitifully inadequate, particularly in view of the hard work and the intense heat in which it is being done. As a woman at Shekapur put it, “we have to fight for water (‘maramari’)”. Here, for example, there were 3 women who brought water from a distance of 2 kilometres from the site, making 7-8 trips in a day, but it was still not enough for the 70 odd workers on site. There was not a single site that had been provided with a first-aid box in Maharashtra.
In Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu, there were a few instances of insect bite (kathandu) and a few injuries for which the Sarpanch provided immediate help. But these were from his private funds due to the lack of awareness that the money should come from Project funds. Drinking water was provided on most sites, though there were complaints that it was woefully inadequate. In Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district, we came across the practice of providing separate vesels for Dalits on grounds of untouchability/purity. We brought this to the notice of the DM. In Orissa, the worksites barely provided drinking water, with little or no facilities for shade and childcare.
In West Bengal, First Aid Boxes do not seem to have reached the worksites. In Jambani, several women complained of the absence of childcare at worksites. Women and NREGA Women dominate EGA worksites in all States. Women mostly do the NREGS work since the wages are exceedingly low and men prefer to go out of the village for work, while women need to remain closer home to fulfill their household responsibilities. Most women at the NREGS worksites earned a wage of Rs. 25 to 50 per day, paid in cash. A majority of them had got work for 4-10 days, which was inadequate. They earned far less than promised due to the shortfall in measurement. The NREGS has the potential of addressing women’s practical needs through wage employment and the creation of assets that address basic needs of food, water, fuel, fodder, etc. It can also address their strategic needs by improving their status and structured involvement in local area development and better intra-family division of work. For this, community based women’s groups such as SHGs play a very important role. This can help in the more confident and effective expression of needs and affect the selection of works. The greater status brought about through income can combine with the self-confidence brought about by collectives and interaction to undermine social barriers. We found examples of this in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. In West Bengal, we came across SHGs that collectively applied for work and even put up Project proposals for sanction under the NREGS. In Tamil Nadu, association in SHGs gave landless Dalit women the confidence o stand up to the might of upper caste landed Sarpanches on the issue of wages and begar. There are many examples of SHGs taking the initiative – be it in application for work, or implementation of Projects. However, there are many instances where the SHGs have had to spend their own money and the state government has not yet reimbursed them. There were several suggestions of women friendly economic activities and projects such as afforestation, civic services, soil conservation, social forestry, horticulture, floriculture, etc. There were also several requests for training and literacy programmes converging with the NREGS and labour costs coming from it. Physical infrastructure for social development such as anganwadis, health centers, crèches in the village, ration shops, were also priorities. However, for all this, apart from the labour:material cost ratio, the list of permissible works will have to change. One very useful suggestion from Orissa was that a land improvement package that includes land leveling, farm bunding and a farm pond should be permitted and encouraged on farms of female headed households as well as farms of migrant workers where women predominantly do the farming. Most people are unaware of this provision for land improvement even for whom it is allowed, namely, SCs, STs, and beneficiaries of IAY and land reforms. The one-third reservation for women in Panchayats is an important (albeit with varying degrees of effectiveness) mechanism for addressing women’s needs through decentralized development. The experience across the country is uneven, and in some places women have made a successful contribution to gender needs, in others their presence has remained a mere formality. The male family members or ‘pati panches’ have often subverted it by usurping the powers of elected women representatives. There is substantial scope for elected women representatives to provide leadership in the selection and design of works as well as provision of basic worksite facilities through capacity building and awareness generation camps. SHGs can play a vital role in this. Within the NREGS, there are certain basic issues pertaining to women’s work and working conditions that must be addressed. These include individual cards, the wage rate, equal wages for men and women, individual payment of wages to women workers, part payment in grain, worksite facilities like childcare, drinking water, shade, rest, convenient timings, first aid facilities, etc. The registration of female headed households is one of the most crucial requirements of women. Two widows were refused cards on the grounds that they were old, even though they worked under the FFWP. They were looked after their sons and daughters-in-law, which was very humiliating for them since they considered themselves capable of manual work. While these two women did not receive any pension, others who did still objected very strongly to their exclusion unless their pensions were raised to Rs 500 per month. Women have to get individual cards and the local administration must organize a separate meetings of women workers. We usually went in teams of 4 or 5 women, and made clear that our aim was to address women’s needs and concerns in the programme. Despite this, men, who too were full of questions about the nitty gritty, often dominated the discussion. We had to repeatedly get women into the discussion. It is therefore essential to organize separate meetings with women. Adequate childcare facilities must be provided. Most women would prefer these to be located in the village and not worksites, unless they are breast-feeding the child. There were several requests for permanent day care centres. Women also felt that if migration was reduced, they could send their children to school. There is very high illiteracy amongst the women workers. In fact, female illiteracy is high in all age groups. This is an important opportunity for not only imparting skills but also basic literacy. There could be dovetailing with adult literacy programmes. Then there are larger issues of gender equity and an improved status of women through changing intra-family and intra-village equations. Will more time on NREGS worksites result in greater burden on women, or will there be a consequent sharing of domestic responsibilities? It’s early days yet, and whether this touches core areas like the division of labour within the family and society and are women taking more effective initiative in village affairs like planning and development remains to be seen. This will definitely depend on the extent of development of women’s organizations and institutional support from government machinery to occupy the spaces created by policy and law. It is for this reason that the NREGS has to converge with literacy programmes and community mobilization initiatives like SHGs. There is of course no escape from the double burden of housework; women at all worksites told us that they got up at 4 am so that they could finish cooking before reporting to the site as early as possible to beat the sun. The shortage of water during the summer adds to their woes, since they have to walk a very long distance to fetch it. Even male workers conceded that this was a particular problem faced by women and felt something had to be done to ease it. Two very interesting outcomes of the Scheme from a gender perspective in Orissa are that there is a reduction in lewd remarks and harassment of women workers in the village and families are beginning to purchase books for their daughters. VI CONCLUSION A unique and radical programme of this kind that marks a fundamental departure from previous approaches requires time to be fully or even substantially streamlined. Unfortunately, there is a sense of nervousness in the bureaucracy fostered by the prevailing climate of ‘fiscal downsizing’ that has resulted in a narrow and parsimonious Scheme, which might ultimately squeeze the life out of it. This is due to high productivity norms resulting in low wages, low coverage and reduced per capita entitlements through the adoption of a broad all-encompassing definition of household and absence of systems to engender application-driven implementation. Combined with fiscal conservatism, this has led to extremely low utilisation of funds and aggregate expenditure. The administrative message that has gone down is zero tolerance for wrongdoing in this Scheme, the Centre is watching. This has stifled initiative where it was possible, and given rise to the tendency to do the minimum, erring on the side of conservatism. Inadequate Spending: The main characteristic of the Scheme is sluggish and low spending rather than wastage and ‘leakages’ (though there are a few instances of the latter, too!). The lower bureaucracy seems to be in the grips of some kind of fear and lethargy, or simply a resistance to disturbing the pre-existing power equations at the local level. They are terribly worried about litigation and the transparency clauses. Panchayat Presidents complain about non-issuance of work orders by BDOs, JEs are worried about giving technical sanction. There is also insufficient staff. And of course, the rains started just after the first phase of registeration. Nonetheless, the Governments need to loosen up and take the plunge and generate more work, after revising the SoRs. Administration: Good bureaucrats can make a great deal of difference to the degree of success in implementation. In general, the lower bureaucracy, esp. at the Block level, tends to be far less proactive than the district officials. The existing government machinery is inadequate at the village and Block level to handle this Scheme. Far more technical persons are required and PRIs need more staff and funds of all types. In fact, staffing and spending are inter-related. Once there is adequate staff at the GP and Block level, the States can absorb more expenditure, and vice versa. It is important that the Rozgar Sevak be appointed and his/her duties spelt out. This is an important recommendation, because there is a genuine lack of staff at the block and the village level to administer the scheme, so even well meaning officials are handicapped, particularly in backward districts (where the Scheme is predominantly located at present — as it is, there is a shortage of staff there). Entitlements: If there is one word which can describe the present phase of the NREGS, it is parsimonious. Despite the fact that it is supposed to be a demand-driven programme, unrestrained by budgetary allocations, in practice there is an attempt to keep the entitlements extremely narrow. The three main entitlements under the NREGS are a 100 days of employment per rural household at minimum wages with some minimal worksite facilities (with unemployment allowance if work is not provided). And yet, implementation falters on all key aspects, namely:
Selection of works: A related issue is the great potential this Scheme holds for local area planning and development. The highly restricted definition of works robs PRIs and gram sabhas of initiative and results in an obsession with CCT/CPT roads and big ponds. It also neglects the provision of social infrastructure. Apart from social development, there should be announcement and wide publicity of a land improvement package that includes land leveling, farm bunding and a farm pond not only for the already permitted SCs, STs, IAY beneficiaries and land reform allottees, but also wholly or predominantly female headed farms. The period of greatest hunger and need fall in between post-sowing and pre-harvest Kharif. Unfortunately, these are also the high rainfall months of August – September, when large-scale earth works are not possible. It is very important to be more flexible in the selection of works for at least these months. There is a strong demand from women for individual beneficiary schemes and income generation activities like horticulture, sericulture, food processing, especially in the rainy months. Demand driven approach: At the moment the Programme is not demand-driven. The GP should launch a campaign for spreading information about applications, and for the first two years at least, there should be a door-to-door survey every trimester. This should not only inform people about this crucial aspect of the Programme but also solicit applications. Women’s issues: There are systemic forces which result in invisibilising women's work through a focus on productivity-linked earth works and high productivity requirements. The urge to save costs and make additional assets by exploiting existing gender biases that already invisibilise women's work and pay her less/nothing for her labour is the most important underlying factor behind the continued clubbing together of easily divisible tasks and low payment. In a sense, women’s labour at public worksites gets treated almost in the same way as women’s work in the household. Unfortunately, administrative laziness has exacerbated this situation further whereby difficulty in computing women’s work has resulted in it not being recognized as independent work. The most important interventions for women are the following: the payment of minimum wages; part payment of wages in grain (calculated at BPL prices); the issuing of individual job cards to women; registration of female-headed single/multi-member households; a door-to-door survey by the GP to ascertain the approximate time of year when they want work and application for it at the time; provision of worksite facilities; selecting women-friendly Projects and labour processes, etc. There is a strong demand from women for individual beneficiary schemes and income generation activities like horticulture, sericulture, food processing, especially in the rainy months. The Elderly: The tendency to exclude those above 60 years of age must be discouraged. Productivity norms for the elderly must be no more than 75 per cent of the rate for males. In any case, the National Old Age Pension Scheme must be universalized, the amount of pension must be raised to Rs 500 per month and the eligibility simply be the attainment of 60 years of age. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||