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Tamil Nadu

At the time of writing, we did not have a copy of the final TN Scheme, nor was it available on the internet. Our comments are therefore based on the Government Orders number 10 dated 1-2-2006 of Rural Development Department, Tamil Nadu and discussions with Secretary Rural Development, Government of Tamil Nadu. The PRIs will play a crucial role in planning, implementing and monitoring the Scheme in Tamil Nadu. The financial pattern proposed by the state is 50:25:25 between the Gram:Block:District level panchayats along SGRY lines. The GO does allow Gram Panchayats to either execute the works themselves or handover the works for execution to the line department/ Self Help Groups, if necessary.


The Tamil Nadu Government Orders allow for an individual or household application for registration to the local Gram Panchayat. Oral applications for Registration are also accepted and any person may appear in person and make an oral request for registration. The President of the Gram Panchayat and the Block Programme Officer are required to arrange for converting the oral request into a written application. The household is correctly defined as a nuclear family comprising mother, father and their children, specifically including single parent/single member households. There is also a special provision for migrants, who are required to apply on the basis of certificates from the Village Administrative Officer / Village Panchayat President of their native place or on the basis of the job card received from their native panchayats.
One of the most positive aspects of the Tamil Nadu GO is the provision for the issue of individual job cards to all registered applicants.
Under 4(iii), the payment of minimum wages is subject to the out-turn of work as determined by the schedule of rural rates. However, even though the State Scheme does not so specify, the government has taken the commendable step to revise the schedule of rural rates in such a way that workers can earn the minimum wage.
However, there is no ban on contractors in the Government Order.
The government has issued an order to ensure a high threshold level and large works since they argue that will make monitoring easier by reducing the number of worksites. They have placed a lower limit of Rs 3 lakhs. This is not a good idea, most likely to come in the way of speedy generation of employment and small local works. Furthermore, this will only increase the existing focus on road connectivity and irrigation works.

Orissa

The BDO is designated as the Programme Officer at the Panchayat Samiti level and the District Magistrate the District Programme Coordinator.


The Orissa Rural Employment Scheme places Panchayat Raj Institutions at the centre stage of the Scheme. A household is clearly defined as nuclear, in accordance with the NOG. It intends to implement the scheme through the Panchayati Raj Institutions, primarily the Gram Panchayats, with the Palli Sabha and Gram Sabha central in the identification of the projects and preparation of the Action Plans. There are strong provisions for continuous social audit.
The verification process is unnecessarily complicated and requires documentary evidence for age, local residence and household entity. This is not in conformity with the NREGA. The Gram Panchayat is required to refer to the electoral rolls of the GP, scrutinize voter ID card and/or other evidences of the applicant and register on satisfaction about local residence, household entity and age. Photographs are compulsory on the single job-cards for each household.
The purpose behind the intimation to applicants is that they know when and where to report for work. Therefore, the emphasis should be on information on the notice board in the village of residence and Gram Panchayats rather than only the offices of implementing agencies, esp. for Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad1, as is presently provided in the OEGS.
The Scheme also relaxes the requirement of at least 50 applicants for starting a new work. In case of exigency, the Programme Officer can order starting of a new work when approached by 20 job seekers with prior approval of District Programme Coordinator. It also clarifies that this restriction will not apply in hilly areas and afforestation works.
Though Zilla Parishads, Panchayat Samitis and Gram Panchayats have been declared as principal authorities for planning and implementation and contractors are banned, they can execute these works through Line Departments/reputed NGOs/Self Help Groups/Other Central or State Government Agencies, etc. However, no clear procedure or criteria is laid out for the selection of NGOs or SHGs.
It says that additional staff will be hired. In each Gram Panchayat, one Technical Assistant and in a cluster of GPs one Data Entry-cum-Accounting Assistant will be deployed on contract basis, and paid out of the programme fund. At the Block level, a Chartered Accountant can be out-sourced on contract basis and an Officer with technical qualification and computer knowledge can be deployed along with other logistic/infrastructure support such as vehicle, computer, phone, etc.
An important suggestion is the convergence with social sector programmes with OREGS to provide the benefits of those programmes to the beneficiaries of Employment Guarantee Scheme. “The work site can become a nodal point for linkage of welfare activities like enlisting in SHGs, insurance and so on by other departments so that the client-group of OREGS get maximum welfare support.”
Like the other states, here too the labourers are “expected to turn out the quantity of works required as per the schedule of rates fixed by the State Government to be eligible for minimum wage while working diligently for seven hours a day” (emphasis added). The insertion of the word “diligently is not in conformity with the NREGA and was in fact deleted from the Bill that was originally tabled by the Minister through an official amendment. This was in response to the objection that it introduces an element of discretion and arbitrariness in operationalization: precisely what would indicate ‘diligence’?
The strong point in the Scheme is that in 14 (3 & 4) it makes the State Government responsible to ensure the payment of minimum wages by reflecting Schedule 1 (7 and 8) of the NREGA more fully: “Measurement of work and productivity norms for all the listed tasks under piece rate works for the different local conditions of soil, slope and geo-morphological (geological, soil and slope/landform) conditions should be devised in such a way that normal work for 7 hours results in earnings of minimum wage. The State Government, (based) on work time and motion studies, as per which execution of projects under the Scheme/Act will be carried on, may prescribe a Works Manual & Rural Schedule of Rates for districts.” Though it state explicitly that when the quantity of works turned out is more than the norm for minimum wages, higher wages shall be paid, is silent on the quantum of wage payment if the outturn is less.
There are no procedures regarding the system of wage payment: in accordance with 23(4), this should be in public and in prescribed manner2. There is also no safeguard against delayed payments, nor is there a prescribed manner for compensation3, nor are private parties debarred from making payments. It also mandates wage payment partly in grain, depending on availability of grains, with at least 25% cash component. This is a positive step for household food security.
Maharashtra
The Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Act has been in existence since 1977, while the NREGA was passed in September 2005. Section 284 of the NREGA provides that if there is already a State law that provides an employment guarantee consistent with the provisions of NREGA and the conditions of employment are not inferior to the Central Act, the same Government can implement its own Act. In keeping with this provision, after the passage of NREGA, the Government of Maharashtra took a decision to amend its Act of 1977 such that those provisions that are inconsistent with NREGA are removed and the essential features of the Central Act are accommodated within it. Accordingly, the Maharashtra Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, 2006 has been formulated and put into place since January 2006. It is to be fully applicable to the notified NREGA districts and substantially applicable to all remaining districts and ‘C’ class Municipal areas.
The scheme covers all adult persons who register for work who are local residents in the Gram Panchayat area and willing to do unskilled manual work. There is also a provision for a person who is above 15 years of age and is the sole earning member of her household. The open-ended universal and individual entitlement is for every adult, without any upper limit on the number of days. 90 per cent of the cost of 100 days per nuclear household will be borne by the central government as per the NREGA, and the cost of the additional districts, days of work beyond 100 days per household and ‘C’ class Municipal areas will be met by the State Government. The Scheme is therefore far wider than the NREGA both in geographical coverage and entitlements.
For mobilizing applications, in addition to the Gram Sabha a door-to-door survey is also to be undertaken to identify those willing to register for employment. The team is supposed to include the Sarpanch, SC/ST and women members of the Gram Panchayat, the Gram Sevak and Talathi. Besides the household job card with photographs, individual identity cards are also to be given to each registered applicant of the family.
Apart from the list of permissible works included in the NREGA, the MREGS provides for “Individual beneficiary schemes (viz. Jawahar wells, horticulture, sericulture, social forestry) and any other work the State Government may have taken up under its EGS.”
In districts not notified under NREGA, the Zilla Panchayats and line departments will continue to be the implementation agencies, and the threetier administrative structure, with the Collector and Tehsildar will be in charge at the district and block level respectively.
Wages are to be paid on a piece rate basis  “according to the quantity of work done on the basis of rates for different items so fixed that an average person working diligently for 7 hours a day will earn equal to the minimum wage prescribed for agricultural labour for the area under the Minimum Wage Act until separate minimum wages are fixed for the scheme.” As already mentioned, the word “diligently” is in contradiction with the NREGA, which also states that nothing justifies non-payment of minimum wages.
The administration is expected to keep a watch on the average wages earned under the task-based systems and if necessary the schedule of rates can be revised to ensure that the earnings are near the wage rate. The average wage earned in the district is to be brought to the notice of the State ECS Council on an annual basis. However, there is no explicit mention of time and motion studies.
Wages are to be paid within 15 days after closure of the fortnightly muster, which might imply payment after 30 days of work and therefore violates the NREGA. Worksites facilities such as medical aid, drinking water, shed and crèche if there are more than 5 children below 6 years of age are to be provided by the implementing agencies.
Some of the permissible benefits are higher than in the Central Act. Ex-gratia payment of Rs 50,000 is provided for death of a worker on site. There is also provision for a disability benefit for workers and accompanying children. There is a provision for maternity benefit if the woman worker has worked continuously for 75 days before her delivery, at the rate of a day’s wages for every 5 days fro a maximum of 150 days. If she undergoes a tubectomy she is entitled to 14 days of paid leave, this is 7 days for male undergoing vasectomy. The state government will pay for any facilities not covered in NREGA.

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