Rural jobs scheme way behind targets

One of the flagship projects of the UPA government, National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), is way behind yielding the desired results.

Not only could the scheme not provide employment to all the eligibles, in many cases the labourers did not get the stipulated rate of wages.

According to a recent survey, in 2006-07, only 6 per cent of the households registered under the scheme got 100 days of employment as prescribed by law.

The lacklustre attitude of the government machinery to implement the scheme properly was evident as the survey showed that 4 out of 14 states "" Bihar,

Orissa Gujarat and Haryana "" did not even constitute the State Employment

Guarantee Council (SEGC) though more than a year has passed.

The NREG Act, one of the pet projects of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, was applicable in 200 districts of the country since February 2006.

In the current financial year, the government, in a special emphasis, extended the NREGS to 330 districts. Budgetary allocation also increased from Rs 11,300 crore to Rs 12,000 crore.

The Society for Participatory Research in Asia did a study on the NREGS in 530 villages in 21 districts across 14 states, including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

During the period April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007, the study reveals "45 per cent of the surveyed registered households have ever demanded for a job. From among those households who demanded job, only 27 per cent have been given a receipt".