Share of NIF goes up from Rs 11,730 crore in 2009-10 to Rs 18,768 crore in 2010-11.
THE NATIONAL Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) will continue with its mammoth agenda of providing 100 days of work in the country’s rural areas this year, drawing its oxygen mainly from the National Investment Fund (NIF).
A major part of the scheme’s allocation will come from the NIF for the second consecutive year. NIF draws money from disinvestment of government stake in public sector undertakings.
The allocation for NREGS has gone up marginally from Rs 39,100 crore in 2009-10 to Rs 40,100 crore in 2010-11. But the share of NIF component in NREGS funding has gone up from Rs 11,730 crore in 2009-10 (when the total allocation was Rs 39,100 crore) to Rs 18,768 crore in 2010-11 (against the total allocation of Rs 40,100 crore). Therefore, the government expenditure on NREGP has been declining.
The NIF proceeds for 2009-10, estimated at Rs 25,000 crore, will come on account of disinvestment of government stake in NHPC Ltd, NTPC Ltd, Oil India Ltd, Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd and NMDC Ltd. The NIF, which was constituted last year, is expected to part-fund social sector schemes till 2011-12.
In the Budget estimates for 2010-11, disinvestment proceeds have been estimated at Rs 40,000 crore.
This Budget’s marginal hike for NREGS conveys a less enthusiastic mood in the government for the scheme. The increased funding of Rs 1,000 crore will barely be enough to create the over 300,000 Panchayat Bhawans or Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendras proposed by the rural development ministry in every panchayat in the country, or to fund NGOs in these panchayats to help run the scheme — two issues on which civil society leaders have been crossing swords with the ministry. Civil society groups have said that the Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendras will see contractors eat up a huge share of the NREGS pie, while the NGO scheme would see big civil society groups getting their “share”.
Meanwhile, this Budget has extended the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) benefits to all NREGS beneficiaries who had worked for more than 15 days during the preceding financial year.
The insurance coverage would be through the Rs 30 per year smart cards which would provide the entire family health insurance cover worth Rs 30,000.
The NREGS has received a tightfisted allocation even as it has barely managed to provide an average of 45 days employment to 40 million people this year, which the ministry justifies as a sign of lack of desire on the part of poverty stricken villagers to do manual work.
