An Assessment of the Performance of

The National Rural Employment Guarantee

Programme
in Terms of its Potential for Creation of Natural
Wealth in India’s Villages

Centre for Science and Environment

Report Prepared for the Ministry of Rural Development
Government of India

September 2008

1
 Introduction

It has been over two years since the National Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) was
implemented in 200 of the most backward districts of India and over one year since it
began in another 130 districts. Further, it has been more than three years since the
National Food for Work Programme (NFFWP), the pilot scheme launched by the
government as a precursor to the NREGA, was implemented in 200 districts. The debate
began then and continues till date about the feasibility and utility of the NREGA. The
topic spurs an interest in everybody from all walks of life largely because of the enormity
of scale. The scheme is the largest of its kind anywhere in the world and thus involves a
proportionate amount of resources. However, what is truly large about the scheme that
more or less dwarfs the quantum of resources being put into the scheme is the number of
lives that it intends to touch and the way in which it intends to touch them. .

The NREGA’s coverage has been expanded from 330 districts to all 604 districts of India
beginning April, 2008. As the scheme is implemented throughout the country and as
works begin everywhere, the magnitude of lives that will be touched by it will inevitably
be massive. However, what is uncertain is the actual impact of the Act on the lives and
livelihoods of people. Whether the Act actually makes a lasting impact on these millions
of people it proposes to touch will depend on the extent to which the nation is able to
extract the developmental potential of the Act. In this regard, as we move on the path
towards nationwide implementation of NREGA it becomes imperative that we take stock
of the experience so far in order to learn from the successes as well as failures.

This paper attempts to do just that. There have been a number of studies that look at the
implementation of the act in terms of employment created as well as issues of wages,
processes of implementation, feedback mechanisms, etc. However, with the NREGA just
emerging out of its infancy, few studies have actually focused on an assessment of the
impact of the NREGA in terms of the realization of its development potential. With the
overwhelming considerations of ideology and corruption at the forefront, rarely any of
the studies have attempted to look into the actual assets being created and their

2
contribution towards long term development and sustained employment generation in the
villages. This paper tries to bridge this lacuna by attempting to study the effectiveness of
the assets created under the act.

At a time when the world is facing one of the worst food crises ever witnessed, it
becomes extremely pertinent to look at the effectiveness of the NREGA in providing both
short and long term food security through work on improvement of agriculture and
provision of water. Even the origins of the NREGA lie in the drought relief programmes
of the 19th century which helped provide purchasing power to agricultural workers in
drought stricken areas. Such a scheme would help curb starvation and hunger since the
problem was localized and a shortage in a drought stricken area simply needed to be met
by surpluses from elsewhere. A Food-for-Work scheme would then solve both problems
of selection and transfer of purchasing power to the needy. The problem today is much
different. The shortage is no longer localized and therefore a mere transfer of purchasing
power would not lead to a solution. Moreover, with an ever increasing strain on our
meager resources, we need to take measures that will empower people to take care of
their own needs rather than depend on external agencies. NREGA has the potential to do
just that by providing people what they most need/desire at the village level. In such a
situation, it becomes extremely crucial to assess the impact of the NREGA, both in
providing short and long term relief.

There have been numerous success stories of economic and environmental regeneration
where year-round productive employment has been generated as a result of community or
NGO efforts. Such success has not been found in the government employment guarantee
schemes of the past. Yet, the potential of NREGA in reaching the rural poor is
unsurpassed as it is now being implemented in all the districts of India. There is thus an
urgent need to study how such success stories can be made part of the employment
guarantee schemes, what are the lacunae and drawbacks and how they can be addressed.

3
Using primary data collected from two districts, Nuapada district in Orissa and Sidhi
district in Madhya Pradesh, we shall assess the potential of the NREGA in providing food
and livelihood security.

4
 Contents

Topic

1 Preface 1

2 Contents 5

3 Background 6

The Study Area- Socio Economic Profiles of Nuapada and

4 Sidhi 9

5 Methodology 14

6 Survey Findings- Nuapada 17

7 Survey Findings- Sidhi 28

8 Comparative Analysis 39

9 Conclusion 44

5
 Background

NREGA is going through a crucial phase. It is a bit early to quantify its impacts
definitively given that people are still grappling with implementation hitches. The
institutional mechanism required for implementation of such a massive scheme have still
not been completely set up. In order to make sure the NREGA does not become
redundant at the hands of the existing structure, a new design has been evolved which
demands a shift of power and responsibility downwards to village level institutions. Thus,
new roles assigned to each instrument in this setup need to be clearly understood and
internalised by all. What is most difficult and which will take time, is, the delegation of
power by those higher up on the beauracratic ladder.

This transition of power and the friction generated as a result thereof, have generated
incessant negative media coverage on the performance of the NREGA. This had triggered
some uncertainty among the ranks of the government as well as those skeptical about the
programme regarding the implementation of the Act. From the current financial year the
Act covers the entire country, giving the guarantee of 100 days employment to around 45
million rural households. As other public wage programmes like the SGRY has been
subsumed within NREGA, this will be the only operational wage employment
programme in the country. Being focused on regeneration of village economy in the long
term, the Act’s success or failure potentially affects the entire rural development scenario
in India. From the advocates of the Act, the excessive focus on just employment creation
has also narrowed its larger objectives and potential. Without discounting the civil
society’s consistent monitoring of the implementation, programmes like NREGA cannot
be just examined on the basis of its short-term benefits.

Performance according to official sources

Going by the national level government data, the NREGA has started to make an impact,
both in its short-term and long-term objectives. To recap, it has performed far better than

6
other employment programmes: a NREGA district has created 45 lakh person days of
employment a year in comparison to other districts creating 14 lakhs a year using other
programmes. That is the short-term objective of NREGA: to create daily wage
employment. On the long-term objective of productive assets creation, each district under
NREGA is creating around 2000-4000 village assets a year. This is double of what has
been created under EAS and the SGRY earlier. Around a million assets have been created
in the last two years, a large number of them being water conservation works.

However, the impact of some of these assets, such as check dams and ponds can only be
assessed after the rainy season. The monsoons should be the period when these structures
would be working to their potential, making an impact on the rural economies. The
survey, thus, would not be able to assess the performance impact of these structures.
However, as we shall see, there are other structures which have an immediate visible
impact, for instance, wells and roads. These works in fact constitute the majority of the
works being undertaken in the study and their impact has been apparent during the
survey. We therefore, look mainly at the perceptions of the people about the long term
impacts of the act on their livelihood. This gives us a fair idea as to the potential long
term development impacts of the programme.

Performance of the selected districts

Nuapada
The district in all has spent 21.77 crores on the implementation of the NREGA in the last
two years. It has provided 98% of the employment demanded so far, generating a total of
18.62 person days. However, in the year 2007-08 the district undertook water
conservation works out of which only 4 were completed and has rural connectivity works
reported completion of 14 works. Rural connectivity works clearly got a priority over
water conservation works in contrast to the year 2006-07 when the district undertook
44.68% work on water conservation.

Sidhi
Sidhi spent 213.06 crores on the programme, providing almost 100% employment against
demand. It generated 264.2 lakh person days in the process. Government data shows that

7
in the year 2006-07, out of the total works undertaken in the district, 59% were on water
conservation. This figure reduced slightly to 55.9% in the year 2007-08.

8
The Study Area: Socio Economic Profiles of Nuapada and Sidhi

We chose two districts from two states representing two distinct agro-ecological zones.

District Agro-ecological Zone State

Nuapada Eastern Highlands Orissa
Siddhi Central Highlands Madhya Pradesh

The selection of the districts was based on the following overarching parameters:
1. Must be implementing NREGA since March 2006. This is to allow at least one
year of NREGA implementation for an objective assessment.
2. Must have agriculture as the primary source of livelihood.
3. Must have dominance of agricultural workers in the workforce.
4. Must have been a district featuring in the Planning Commission’s 100 poorest
districts ranking.

Socio-Economic Profiles

Nuapada: Nuapada was part of the Kalahandi District till early March, 1993, but for
administrative convenience, Kalahandi was divided into two parts i.e. Kalahandi and
Nuapada. Nuapada district now comprises one sub-division (Nuapada), two tehsils
(Nuapada and Khariar) and five Community Development Blocks (Khariar, Sinapalli,
Boden, Nuapada and Komna).

Nuapada is a drought prone district with a large number of marginal farmers and
agricultural labourers. The district is one of the poorest in Orissa with a large tribal
population. According to the district statistical handbook, 83% of families live below the
Government of India poverty line of Rs.15,000 (US$300) per annum. Of the families
living below the poverty line over 50% are ‘very poor’ with an income of only Rs.6000
(US$120) per annum. It experiences high distress migration due to failure in agriculture.

In a population of 5,00,652 persons, 72% of the households fall into the category of small
and marginal farmers. The male literacy rate in Nuapada is 58% and among women it is

9
24%. Among children, only 25% of Scheduled Caste and 19% of Scheduled Tribes are
enrolled in schools.

Statistical Profile of Nuapada: -

Geographical area (sq km) 3,852

Number of panchayats 109
Is it a DPAP1 district Y
Is it a DDP2 district .
Rural population 500,652
Rural population density per sq km 150
Average population per panchayat 4,593
Average area per panchayat (sq km) 35
Total rural workers 234,000
Agricultutal labourers vs total rural workers 48%
Fifth schedule district .
Sixth schedule district .
Rural ST3 population (%) 36%
Source: Second Administrative Reforms Commission- Unlocking Human Capital: Entitlements and
Governance- a case study, 2005
1-Drought Prone Areas Programme
2-Desert Development Programme
3-Schedule Tribe

Agriculture in the district is mainly rain-fed. Because of a host of factors, including

variable and unpredictable rainfall, agricultural productivity in Nuapada can be best
characterized as low and uncertain. As a result, an average non-irrigated farm produces
about seven month’s worth of food grains for the food and nutritional needs of an entire
family of average family size. For the remaining months, male members of the family
mainly seek work on the fields of bigger land owners or migrate in search of
employment. In some instances, especially among the tribal communities, entire families
forage for food in the forests. This adds to their existing problems of not being able to
access minimum benefits in relation to education, nutrition, health security. Instances of
malnutrition, sometimes severe, are fairly common among these groups. (source: Western
Orissa Rural Livelihoods Project)

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Despite the fact that average annual rainfall is as high as 1378 mm, Nuapada is a highly
drought prone area. It has suffered repeated droughts in the eighties every alternate year
and for 3 years consecutively from 1987 to 1989. The nineties and the new millennium
have fared better with reduced intensity of droughts, only the year 2002 registering a
severe drought. With an agrarian economy and high incidence of poverty, poor rains
disrupt the entire yearly cycle in agriculture. A majority of the population in the district is
landless earning their livelihood as agricultural labourers. Accumulatively, including the
tillers who are unable to till land, droughts spell a decline in the employment
opportunities for nearly 85% of the population.

Further, the district is highly dependant on natural resources. 48% of the total land area in
the district comes under forest area and the local economy thrives on major and minor
forest products as agriculture cannot provide employment for the major part of the year.
Reducing forest cover, absence of pro-poor NTFP policies, and substitution of traditional
craft items by cheaper factory goods have resulted in a dramatic fall in non-agricultural
employment opportunities. All this has forced several families in Nuapada, especially in
rural areas, to migrate to urban areas in search of employment opportunities.

In such a situation, an act like the NREGA has the potential to transform the face of the
rural economy. The availability of such a large amount of resources presents a massive
opportunity for the creation of productive assets such as water conservation structures. As
the problem in Nuapada is not one of less rainfall but irregular rainfall, creation of proper
water conservation structures through the NREGA would have immense potential to
boost agriculture and rural livelihoods.

Siddhi: The district of Sidhi forms the eastern border of Madhya Pradesh and is known
for six thermal power stations and has the second largest series of eleven active coal mine
groups in Asia (Zila Panchayat, Sidhi). It consists of 8 administrative blocks - Sidhi,
Rampur, Majhauli, Kusmi, Sihawal, Devsor, Chitrangi, Waidhan. Adjoining Chattisgarh,
Sidhi hosts similar conditions of scarcity as Nuapada. It is a drought prone district with

11
its economy largely based on agriculture. Sharing 3% of Madhya Pradesh’s population,
the district comprises 1831152 persons. Out of its total population 11.9% are Scheduled
Caste and 29.9% Scheduled Tribe.

Siddhi district is dominantly hilly and has a significant forest cover at about 40% of the
total area of the district. Out of this, 24 percent of the total area or about 2400 Sq. Km.
has dense canopied forest and about 16 percent or about 1600 Sq. Km. is open forest. Of
the eight blocks of district, three: namely, Kusmi, Devsar and Chitrangi have significant
forest cover (mixed tropical deciduous forests). The forests serve as a source for variety
of N.T.F.Ps. like mahua, chironji, tendu etc., which are an important source of livelihood
for people.A large number of villages are unreachable by road during the rains.
Additionally, a large number of villages in the hilly areas are sparsely populated. Any
project on ecological regeneration would thus have to take these geographical features of
the region into account in order to fully realize its developmental potential.

The district with an average annual rainfall of 1248 mm is well endowed with nature’s
bounty. The local economy is agriculture based and heavily dependant on natural
resources. There is large scale fragmentation of land with majority of farmers tilling land
less than two hectares. Only 29% of the total area under cultivation is irrigated within
which 9.4% area is under irrigation through perennial sources like streams, 2.7% is canal
irrigated, 5.5% through wells and 11.34% through other means. A large proportion of the
land area is under forest cover with the district hosting 38% of Madhya Pradesh’s forests
at 4013 sq. km.

Statistical Profile of Sidhi

Geographical area (sq km) 10526

Percentage of cultivable area 63.53
Development Blocks 8
Number of panchayats 717
Is it a DPAP district Y
Is it a DDP district .
Rural population 1,570,121
Rural population density per sq km 149

12
Average population per panchayat 2,190
Average area per panchayat (sq km) 15
Total rural workers 681,769
Agricultutal labourers vs total rural workers 34%
Fifth schedule district Y
Sixth schedule district .
Rural ST population (%) 33%
Source: Second Administrative Reforms Commission- Unlocking Human Capital:
Entitlements and Governance- a case study, 2005
. = missing

The Female literacy rate at 13.6% stands very low in Sidhi and so does the level of rural
poverty, at 64.6%. The district, like Nuapada, is also covered by the Drought Prone Area
Programme. Sidhi has a total ST population of 33%. In terms of occupation 34% of the
rural population in the district consists of agricultural labourers. Given the extent and
scale of rural population and dependence on agriculture and natural resources, the
development potential of the NREGA has a good scope for realization in the area.

It is a water scarce district that has done impressive works in water conservation. It has
large number of marginal farmers and going by preliminary reports has taken up
extensive water conservation works on SC/ST lands as well as village common lands. A
large part of this investment has been in wells on private land. This is due to the fact that
the status of ground water is relatively comfortable as compared to other parts of the
country. The depth of ground water varies from 60 to 150 feet in Rampur and Sidhi
blocks and about 30 to 50 feet in Kusmi, Devsar and Chitrangi blocks. It is a problem of
managing water resources properly that forms the basis of the scarcity of water in the
area. This is coupled with the lack of opportunity for the poor to access under ground
water sources. It is here that the NREGA can and has really helped people.

There are three perennial rivers that flow through the district, the Son, the Gopad and the
Banas but irrigation facilities are poorly developed across the district. There are very few
ponds and tanks in the area but the NREGA is set to change all that.

13
 Methodology

The assessment has been carried out using primary data collected through a survey
instrument as well as collection of secondary data through various sources like
government records, panchayat records, life histories of people and observation on field.
The collection of data commenced in January 2008 with the finalization of the survey
instruments. The survey instruments were field tested in three districts and developed to
look at specific target areas such as –

1. Monitor the creation of productive assets such as water harvesting structures, the
process of work selection under NREGA and whether the assets created reflect
the local needs.
2. To gauge the development potential of the productive assets created.
3. Assess creation of employment potential for the rural poor and marginalized,
particularly for women, tribals, fisherfolk;
4. Assess the creation of institutional systems created that can ensure long-term
sustainability and people’s participation.

The collection of related secondary data has been an ongoing process starting in January
and lasting till the closure of the field survey.

The Survey Team

Secondary data was collected by CSE staff along with our partners in the field. For the
purpose of the same as well as to carry out the primary data collection we formed two
field research teams in the respective districts. The team in Orissa was headed by Prof.
Simanchal Mishra, teaching at Kesinga Mahavidhyala; and in Sidhi by Shri J.N. Pandey,
head of a non-profit organisation called Gurukul. Under the able leadership of both, 12
students and young NGO professionals were recruited to conduct the survey in the
villages. The team at CSE trained the local survey teams in conducting the survey and
brushed up the nuances of the NREGA act. Local examples were taken up in the survey
and people already engaged with the NREGA were called at the district training to impart
a better understanding of the act and its implementation. Possible scenarios in the field

14
came up during the training and a lot of confusion on wage rates, documentation aspects,
kind of assets created etc. were cleared in the process. The survey instrument itself was
translated in parts to suit the locales and to forge a better understanding about what was
being asked in the particular question. The survey instrument for Sidhi was translated into
Hindi to facilitate the process.

The survey instrument

The survey instrument that we developed contains detailed village and household level
questionnaires called the Productive Asset Creation and Assessment Survey Tool
(PACAST) to collect information on various aspects related to the implementation of
NREGA. The survey has been fine tuned further with help from peer group reviews. It
gathers information along the following set of broad parameters- An assessment of the
impact of NREGA

1. On the increment of local natural resources like water, forests and land
improvements;
2. On the local rural economy;
3. On the creation of sustainable and diversified rural employment opportunities;
4. On improvements in lifestyle such as changes in pattern of economy, purchasing
power, housing, gender roles and responsibilities, school attendance;
5. On the nature of institutional structures created;
6. On the manner of implementation including patterns of decision-making;
7. On the impact on marginalized and the landless poor.

Sampling:

The sample frame was developed using random sampling. Two blocks were chosen per
district. Within these two blocks a random sample of four villages was chosen per block.
A random sample of 30 households per village was chosen from these villages for the
household survey.

District Block Villages

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Nuapada Khariar Badamulla, Chanabeda,
Khasbahal and Thakpali
Sinapalli Boto Pali, Hatibandha,
Kokpadar and Mahagaon
Sidhi Sidhi Bagohar, Barhai, Barmani
and Mata
Kusmi Dadri, Khaira, Kanchanpur
and Umriha

Analysis of Data:

The data has been entered once at the district level by the students who conducted the
survey. It was reentered in Delhi to check for data entry errors and check for
inconsistencies.

Data analysis was carried out centrally at CSE. The software used for analysis of data
was STATA. Analysis involved establishment of causal networks i.e. building a logical
chain of events/evidence in order to chart out the important indicators that explain the
process of asset creation and distribution of benefits. The general strategy has been to
build descriptive display formats designed to answer the research questions- charts and
tables. We have used statistical analysis along with qualitative data collected from field
visits and reports from the field to derive trends and cross check data. This has been
repeated for both the district cases to draw cross-case conclusions.

We strive to monitor and assess the potential impact of NREGA on the creation of
natural resource asset base and the resultant impact of rural livelihood, food security,
lifestyle changes, economic regeneration and impact on rural-urban migration.
Institutional aspects such as the process of decision-making, capacity building, building
long-term institutional structures have also been assessed as also its impact on women
and marginalized groups. The final objective has been to draw comparisons between the
performances of NREGA in the two districts. This will help us learn what steps need to
be taken in order to move towards the final objective of ensuring short term and long
term food and livelihood security of the rural poor.

16
 Survey Findings

This section lists the main findings of the survey, presently separately for the two
districts. We look at district wise results for Nuapada and Sidhi, followed by a
comparative analysis of the two districts in terms of performance of NREGA to draw
conclusions from this analysis.

Nuapada
Looking at the household level analysis, we queried the people on the general level of
awareness of the act and its provisions. Data from 240 respondent households in Nuapada
shows high awareness about the existence of the act as 84.58% of the respondents knew
about the act. This figure only depicts the knowledge about the presence of NREGA and
not about what it entails or its provisions. The provisions of the act are not known to a
large sample as also the procedures to apply for work etc.

Role of Gram Sabhas- Planning and Execution of tasks

It is absolutely essential for the success of the NREGA that the local community be
involved in the planning and implementation of the works. The local community must
make it a part of the village long term development plan. Further, it is only the local
community which best knows its own needs and which has to reap the benefits of the
productive assets. They have the maximum incentive to make it work. In this context, our
survey reveals a poor picture of the part played by Panchayat’s in these villages.
The table below gives the occurrence of gram sabhas in villages in Nuapada.

Number of times gram sabha met

Village Name in previous year
1 Badamulla 2
2 Botopali 1
3 Chanabeda N.A
4 Hatibandha 7
5 Khajbahal 1
6 Kokpadar 4
7 Mahagaon 2
8 Thakpali 2

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As is evident none of the villages studied have a good track record of village meetings.
This has serious consequences for the planning process as well as the execution of the
NREGA. When asked about the percentages of the gram sabha members who actually
attend the meetings, the data revealed the following-

Village % of gram sabha members who actually attend

Name meetings.
1 Badamulla 1
2 Botopali 10
3 Chanabeda N.A
4 Hatibandha 26
5 Khajbahal 2
6 Kokpadar 15
7 Mahagaon 5
8 Thakpali 2

Again a dismal record, indicative of problems within the community. The data on
proportion of meetings dedicated to NREGA was highly inconsistent and had to be
dropped. Judging from the number of meetings itself, however, it is clear that in hardly
any of the surveyed villages were Gram Sabha meetings ever dedicated to NREGA. The
main reason behind the attendance, participation and frequency of gram sabha meetings
standing low was cited as a lack of information about the programme. Most of the
villagers did not know about the clauses of the scheme and thought it to be another
employment scheme where the government tells people what work is to be done.

Planning
With an abysmal record of gram sabha meetings, involvement of the gram sabha in the
planning of works under the act seems a remote possibility. We could only obtain a
response in six villages out of which, respondents in 3 villages believe that the gram
sabha was involved in the creation of the annual plan. Further probing gave us a few
more insights into the level of involvement of the gram sabha in the actual planning and
implementation of NREGA works. The table below gives the details of the responses
obtained after discussions with several villagers about the involvement of gram sabha’s in
their villages.

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Village Level Participation in NREGA works

How would you

consider
Are account communications
Is the panchayat books Does the village between: Your
incharge of the available on have a Gram Panchayat and
Village Name NREGA funds? request Rozgar Sevak? the Block
Badamulla Yes No Yes Good
Botopali Yes No No Poor
Chanabeda Yes No No Very Good
Hatibandha Yes Yes Yes N.A
Khajbahal No No No Good
Kokpadar Yes No Yes Poor
Mahagaon N.A N.A Yes N.A
Thakpali Yes No No Poor

As is apparent from the table, not only is the level of participation of the gram sabha in
planning and execution of works low, only in one village did the members check muster
rolls to verify the authenticity of names enlisted there. While three villages had submitted
an annual plan, in only one of those villages was the gram sabha involved in the
preparation of the annual plan. Rarely were the gram sabha members even informed
about the NREGA and nowhere did the villagers feel the gram sabha members had good
relations with the panchayat. It is surprising to note that even the NREGA accounts were
not accessible to Gram Sabha members in any of the villages. While the account
maintained for NREGA at the panchayat level can be operated by sarpanch and
panchayat secretary, it is not accessible to the gram sabha members. However, gram
sabha members can access the related records at GP office and through social audit. This
information is missing among the people creating a sense of mis-trust among them about
the implementation of the act by the panchayat. It is evident that in terms of transparency
and devolution of powers to the gram sabha, the district is not doing too well.

19
Further questions brought forth the actual administrative structure and provisions in place
to execute the act. The table shows that in most places, the panchayat does handle
NREGA accounts. The respondents were hesitant in divulging who kept the records using
the term “government employees, in two case the villagers confirmed that accounts were
maintained by the Junior Engineer (JE) along with some help from the secretary (source:
narratives of respondents). Further, only in one village were account books available on
request. As is evident in our survey there is a huge problem of lack of empowerment of
Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI). Observations of previous researchers and surveyors
confirm this belief. A Delhi based organization, Centre for Environment and Food
Security, conducted a survey on NREGA in 100 villages in different districts of Orissa in
the year 2007 and found how the scheme was ‘trapped within the clutches of the self
serving beauracracy’ instead of being in the hands of the Panchayati Raj Institutions. Our
survey too points at a heavy presence of the administrative beauracracy in planning and
implementation of the works.

Demand for Work

Most of the respondents had not actually applied for work but had received the work
from the panchayat. Therefore, in order to assess the demand for work under NREGA,
we consider the number of days the respondents would be willing to work if offered the
same wage per day. A majority expressed their desire to work for more than 100 days.
While 36% said they would work 100 days, more than 44% said they would work more
than 100 days. Around 20% mentioned they would work less than 100 days. On average,
the respondents said that at the going wage rate they would want to work for 108 days in
a year.

Against the demand for work the provision of employment (meeting the short term
objective of creation of livelihood opportunities) fell short of even the stipulated 100 days
per household. Households received an average of 23.3 days of NREGA work over the
entire period. On the whole, our sample households that worked under NREGA received
a total of 5298 days of employment.

20
Further, as already mentioned, Nuapada had a predominantly large number of workers
working on rural connectivity projects. Almost 65% of the respondents said they had
worked on rural connectivity works. The number of water conservation and harvesting
works came second with only 20% respondents being employed on works related to
renovation of traditional water bodies and 14% on other water conservation and micro
irrigation projects. However, the actual proportion of people working on renovation of
traditional water bodies would be a little more than what is depicted here since a number
of respondents had worked on both road connectivity projects as well as renovation
works and in such case only their first response was taken into account.

Distribution of Workers among different categories of works done under NREGA in Nuapada
Type of Work Done: Frequency Percentage Average daily wage
Road Connectivity 240 65.93 57.3843
Flood Control and Protection 2 0.55 70
Water Conservation and Harvesting 44 12.09 63.17956
Micro Irrigation Projects 8 2.2 70.25
Renovation of Traditional Water Bodies 70 19.23 64.35281
Total 364 100 65.033334

It is evident that employment provided under NREGA does not seem to have contributed
much towards ensuring livelihood security even in the short term. The 23.3 days of work
per household on average would not be sufficient in achieving any of the desired
objectives, either in reducing the need for migration or their dependence or forest
products. Further, data from our survey is in sharp contrast with the data provided by the
Government for 2007-08 according to which average days of employment provided to a
family in financial year 2007-08 is 50.6 days.

Further inspection of the situation helps explain this anomaly. The government’s measure
of demand is based on the number of people who officially apply for a job at the
panchayat or block office. However, this is hardly ever the case. The panchayat or block
office applies for work and when the work begins the villagers are informed of it and told
to come and work. In a number of cases it has been observed that the applications for job
in the name of people who are already working are ‘manufactured’ later. This was
confirmed by many respondents during the interviews stating that they had not ‘applied’

21
for work but were told to come to the work site by the panchayat. Infact, many of the
respondents did not know that they are supposed to apply for work, as seen in the section
above that looks at the information flow. On the other hand, fresh job applications in
villages where work is not already available are never entertained. According to field
observations, such individuals were told that word of mouth was good enough so that
there may not be any proof of their application and in case the job is not provided, the
state does not have to bear the burden of paying the unemployment allowance. Thus a
large number of actual demands for work under NREGA never really get recorded and
what we see is a huge figure of 98.7% of demands for work being met. In such a situation
it becomes difficult to expect NREGA work to have any short term or even long term
impact on livelihood security through wage employment. In order to exploit the potential
of the NREGA the gap between reality on the field and what is fed on the accounts books
must reduce.

Work Undertaken
In the total sample, 366 people had worked under NREGA and shared their work details.
These individuals were asked about the type of work that they were involved in. Most of
the respondents were involved in one of three kinds of work, road connectivity works,
water conservation and harvesting and renovation of traditional water bodies.
Surprisingly, despite the local communities’ extreme need for water conservation, water
harvesting and drought protection works, such works apparently received only second
preference. As mentioned earlier planning process under NREGA is poor at best in these
villages and this explains the discrepancy in the selection of works. Respondents also
stated that due to the remuneration being easily calculable in road works the
implementing agencies preferred these over water conservation. Most of the respondents
interviewed were in fact employed in rural connectivity works (approximately 65.5%).
This was followed by works on renovation of traditional water bodies where
approximately 20% of respondents were employed and water conservation and water
harvesting works, employing about 12 % people. It is important to note here that in most
of the water conservation works the respondents were working on were works taken up in

22
the year 2006-07 and carried forward in 2007-08. No new water conservation works had
been taken up in the year 2007-08.

Looking at the use and ownership patterns of different productive assets created
respondents revealed an increase in the availability of water for the household, cattle as
well as irrigation. Under water conservation renovation of traditional water bodies was
the main activity undertaken apart from works on roads, which, helped improve
communication between villages.

In terms of abandoned works 36 families reported on abandoned works on renovation of

traditional water bodies. The exact number of these works is not known and none could
give any reason for why the works had been abandoned. Most of the works took place on
Panchayat land and hence the onus of maintenance of the assets was on the Panchayats.
However, the respondents perceived that no funds are assigned for maintenance of the
assets created, hence they largely felt that the asset would become obsolete in the coming
years. For instance for ponds on Panchayat land, it was felt that eventually, mud and
other debris would fill up the pond and make it obsolete. Similarly, the roads, since they
were not metallic but kuccha would be washed away by the rain. Again, here a lack of
information on the maintenance of assets coming under permissible works- namely de-
silting and restoration of traditional water bodies, is clearly highlighted.

Support Facilities
The performance of the district in terms of providing support facilities was again poor.
The most common support facility provided was drinking water and that too was reported
by just 25% of the respondents. 17% respondents reported the presence of shade and 14%
reported the presence of medical aid at the worksite. What is glaring is the near total
absence of crèches at the worksite as only one out of the 240 respondents reported its
presence. This is a very significant result and as shown by other research (NREGA and
Women’s Work-EPW, March 1-7, 2008) it can severely hamper female participation in
NREGA works.

23
Wage Payment (Impact on earnings, income of respondents)

Wages are the medium through which purchasing power is transferred to the rural
masses. It is through wages that the NREGA meets its short term objective of ensuring
food and livelihood security and providing relief against hunger. Thus, wages easily form
the focal point of debates on whether the Act is able to meet its short term objective or
not. Wages, when monitored, also act to flag evidence of corruption. A study of wages
received by individuals belonging to the surveyed households is thus quintessential.

The average daily wage received by respondents who worked under NREGA in Nuapada
is Rs. 59.8. This is less than the minimum wage assured by the state of Orissa at Rs. 67.
The total wage disbursement among our 366 respondents belonging to 227 (data from the
remaining 23 households was either missing or could not be crosschecked) survey
households was Rs 2,70,578 (total wage was calculated by multiplying the number of
days worked by each worker in the households across the sample by the wage received-
as asked in the survey). This implies that the average amount of money received by each
household in wage payment was Rs. 1192. This again, is much less than the estimated
baseline of Rs. 6000 for a household that works for the complete 100 days at the national
minimum wage of Rs. 60. Such a low figure could have several possible explanations. It
could signify a lack of demand for NREGA work by the households and hence lower
participation and lower total wage payments but judging by the willingness to work of the
people to work under NREGA, this seems a remote possibility. It could also imply that
the district administration was unable to meet the demands of work and has only been
able to provide very little in terms of employment or underpayment of wages for the
work done. These seem more plausible explanations going by the data.

It was also noticed that the daily wages paid to workers working on different projects
were different. The table below shows the distribution of average daily wages earned by
respondents working on different projects under NREGA. The table depicts the huge
diversity in wages across works. This disparity needs to be addressed in order to ensure
that people are get their due wages regardless of the type of work done and hence they
are equally willing to perform each type of work. While it is clear that average wage

24
earned from different works cannot be the same, however, it is important that average
wage earned under any kind of permissible work undertaken should enable the worker to
earn the notified minimum wage in the state. Some works are demand more hard labour
than others and when wages are paid on a task rate basis, it should be ensured that wages
for the tougher works are raised substantially so that equal amount of effort gets paid
equally.

Variation in wages received by workers working different categories of works

Type of Work Done: Average daily wage
Road Connectivity 57.38
Flood Control and Protection 70.00
Water Conservation and Harvesting 63.17
Micro Irrigation Projects 70.25
Renovation of Traditional Water Bodies 64.35
Total 65.03

Impact of the NREGA

Forest Dependency
Nuapada has 48% of the land under forests. The dependence on forests is very high as
depicted in the survey as 71.61% of the survey respondents stated that their community
depended on forest resources for their livelihood. We queried whether the availability of
fuelwood and/or fodder had increased, remained unchanged or decreased in the past year.
In response 43% respondents felt the availability had increased somewhat due to the
NREGA works undertaken while 41.8% believed it had actually decreased regardless of
the works. This decline is more likely from factors such as over exploitation or due to
stricter enforcement of laws regarding use of forest products and access to forest products
for the tribal population. As regards the act, with the little amount of work that has been
available under NREGA it is highly unlikely that it could have had any significant impact
on positive changes in forest resources. Aforestation works had not been undertaken in
any of the villages. In the future however, when work expands and covers such projects it
would be interesting to reassess the impact of the act on the interrelationships between
the community and the forest.

Agriculture

25
A good measure of a programmes development impact on the sustainability and
livelihood opportunities of the rural population in an agriculture dominated region would
be to see if the programme has helped diversify the crop mix in their production basket.
The responses in this regard was slightly encouraging. 15% of the respondents had
changed their crop mix in the last one year. While earlier they were mostly dependant on
Paddy and Biri, over the previous year they were able to diversify and produce crops such
as groundnut, millet and vegetables.

Though small but encouraging is the percentage of people who were able to increase the
area sown. 14.5% of the respondents reported such an increase due to the increased water
availability as a result of works undertaken through NREGA. Overall, for our sample,
NREGA works had led to a total increase in area sown by 18.25 acres.

Water Availability
15.38% of the respondents said that NREGA had actually led to increased water
availability. This figure seems reasonably high considering maximum NREGA works in
Nuapada were on road construction and repair. This is a very significant finding as it says
how much can be achieved if greater focus and attention is given to addressing the water
concerns of the local population through NREGA.

A shift in focus from providing employment to creation of productive assets could

possibly help improve monitoring and evaluation of the programme in the different
districts. Physical assets are more easily perceptible then wages paid to individuals. That
may be one of the reasons why schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna
(PMGSY) and the Watershed Development Programmes perform so well in some states.
A need to complete the physical assets in time would also ensure timely payment of
wages to the workers and be a step towards livelihood security of the individuals. It
would also help ensure that productive assets which are started are completed and not left
abandoned in between which is quite often the case.

Migration

26
The rate of migration is quite high in the district. With the prevalence of large number of
marginal farmers and landless labourers coupled with poor resource base and a
impoverished agrarian economy, migration as an option is exercised by a large part of our
sample. Given the low percentage of work provided in the district it is no surprise that the
rates of migration have not come down at all. At best, a small proportion of the
population has deferred their migration to work for a few days under NREGA. However,
informal interviews reveal that people perceive the potential of NREGA in reducing
migration to be substantial. Many respondents stated that if full 100 days of employment
were available in the village they would prefer to stay in the village.

27
Sidhi
In Sidhi the two blocks chosen for the study, Sidhi and Kusmi, varied greatly in their
socio economic characteristics. Kusmi block has a very large tribal population and a large
proportion of the land area is covered by forest area. As a result people in Kusmi are
highly dependent on forest resources. Literacy in somewhat low in the block at 51% as
opposed to Sidhi block which has 58% literacy. Most of the Sarpanches belong to
Scehduled Tribe category and are illiterate. Hence the local power structure in Kusmi is
very different from Sidhi block which hosts more of general caste population. We thus
analyse the two blocks separately in a lot of places wherever such analysis can bring forth
any interesting results.

Awareness about the NREGA

Looking at the general level of awareness among the respondents in Sidhi we find that
while the over all awareness was very high, block level data suggests that for Kusmi
block it was lower. While 90% people overall were aware about the existence of the act,
in Sidhi block a whooping 96% knew about the act while in Kusmi block only 86%
respondents displayed any knowledge of the act. Knowledge about the provisions of the
act was a mixed response as respondents knew about the minimum wage and the number
of days of employment that can be availed under the act but very few knew about the
application for work, grievance redress mechanism, etc. Here again Sidhi block had a
high incidence of people who knew about these aspects and more as compared to Kusmi.

Role of Gram Sabhas- Planning and Execution

Planning
The table below shows the frequency with which gram sabhas met in the different
villages.
Village Name Number of times gram sabha met in previous year
Bhagohar 3
Barhai 1
Varmani 3
Mata 4
Dadri 16
Kanchanpur 4

28
Khaira 1
Lurkuti 16

Thus, while in most villages the gram sabha did not meet very frequently, in two of the
villages in Kusmi block they met 1.3 times a month. Though the meetings are few but
the proportion of members who participated in the gram sabhas is reportedly high in
Sidhi block compared to Kusmi. The higher proportion of tribals within Kusmi and the
higher rates of illiteracy accompanied by lack of awareness and high rates of migration
may be the reasons for the discrepancy.

Block Village Name % of gram sabha members who actually attend meetings.
Sidhi Bhagohar 80
SIdhi Barhai 20
Sidhi Varmani 80
Sidhi Mata 80
Kusmi Dadri 50
Kusmi Kanchanpur 60
Kusmi Khaira 20
Kusmi Lurkuti 50

In terms of the number of gram sabha meetings dedicated to NREGA Sidhi scores again
with two of its villages dedicating all the gram sabhas to the programme and one
dedicating 90% of its meetings. In Kusmi block on an average 53% of the Gram sabhas
were dedicated to NREGA. Data from 2 villages was inconsistent and had to be dropped
out of the analysis on community participation.

The data throws up some really positive results for the participation of the people in
preparation of the annual plan. A majority of the villages studied prepared the annual
plans out of which all involved the gram sabha in the preparation. These plans gave
preference to water conservation works along with road construction as is evident from
the data discussed in the sections below. This is a very important step towards ensuring
that the assets created under NREGA are suited to local needs and everyone in the village
understands about the nature and reason for the works being taken up. At the end of the
day it also renders the work a sense of ownership as the villagers are now working on

29
activities that they want. Here, it must be noted that the villages received ample
assistance in preparation of the annual plan. A number of them were supported by the
consultants as well technical assistants in their efforts.
Were
external How would you How would you
consultants, consider consider
including Did the state Does communications communications
civil society Government Is the the between: Your between: Your
organisations provide panchayat village panchayat and Panchayat and
involved in technical incharge have a the Gram the Block- Rate
the assistants to of the Gram Sabha- Rate on a on a scale
preparation help prepare NREGA Rozgar scale 1=poor, 1=poor,
of the annual the annual funds? Sevak? 2=average, 2=average,
plan plan? Yes- 1, No- Yes- 1, 3=good, 4=very 3=good, 4=very
Village Name Yes- 1, No- 2 Yes- 1, No- 2 2 No- 2 good, 5=excellent good, 5=excellent
Bhagohar 2 1 1 2 Excellent Average
Barhai 1 1 1 2 Excellent
Varmani 1 1 1 2 Very Good Very Good
Mata 2 Very Good Poor
Dadri 1 1 1 1 Average Average
Kanchanpur 1 1 1 Very Good Good
Khaira 1 1 1 Very Good Good
Lurkuti 1 2 1 Very Good Good

After the formation of the annual plan, the implementation of NREGA in the villages has
been more or less transparent. The mustor rolls and account books are reported to be
readily available in 80% of our sample. In two villages the gram sabha has even checked
the two on account of a few complaints.

Demand for work

In terms of demand for work again the data is not very clear as many respondents in 6 of
our villages were confused about the application procedure. Two villages in Sidhi block
displayed a better result with respondents reporting applying for work. In the other
villages some of the respondents complained about the non-acceptance of their
application and still others thought the Panchayat provides work so did not apply.
When asked about the how many days would the respondents like to work under
NREGA, the average demand for work was 177 days.

Provision of employment

30
Sidhi is known to be the district that has provided the maximum number of jobs within
Madhya Pradesh. In fact, it has generated the maximum number of person days among all
districts in MP (source: Govt. of India). A look at the data from our survey reveals that
the 314 respondents who were employed under NREGA worked, on average 40 days.
Further, these 314 individuals from the 214 of the surveyed households, who worked
under the NREGA, received a total of 11,808 days of employment. Thus, on average,
each household received around 55.17 days of employment since the beginning of the
scheme. The figure from Siddhi is still much lower than the stipulated 100 days per
household but more than twice that of Nuapada.

The district reports a high number of water conservation works as per government data
but in our sample, road connectivity tops the list of works undertaken. The proportion of
respondents who worked under road connectivity projects was significantly high at
56.5% . Water conservation came second with 41.16% works followed by other
activities.
Distribution of number of people employed in the NREGA under each different category of work
Frequenc
Type Of Work y Percentage
Road Connectivity 176 56.59
Flood Control and Protection 7 2.25
Water Conservation and Harvesting 56 18.01
Drought Proofing 32 10.29
Micro Irrigation Works 20 6.43
Provision of Irrigation to land owned by SC, ST, OBC etc 11 3.54
Renovation of Traditional Water Bodies 2 0.64
Land Development 2 0.64
Other Activities 5 1.61
Total 311 100

Looking at these figures it is clear that the NREGA’s implementation has not contributed
to livelihood security as much as its potential.

Works Undertaken
The data on asset creation is highly skewed with no clear trends as many of the
respondents reportedly were uneasy answering the questions related to assets. According

31
to primary observations and informal discussions in the field by CSE staff as well as the
survey team, however, a large number of the assets created comprise wells. Most of the
work pertained to repair and maintenance of old structures and some work was done on
private land belonging to SC’s and ST’s.

The use and ownership questions on the assets created revealed that some 0parts of
Kusmi block that are forested have actually become water surplus with the water
harvesting structures repaired and construction of new ones. Three out of 4 villages
agreed that rights of use of all types of water conservation and harvesting structures as
well as of roads constructed under NREGA has lies with the community and that
management of use is a transparent process. Most of the sample did not talk about the
number of abandoned works nor about number of incomplete/ongoing works. The power
structures in the district are such that a few people hold sway over all important matters
in the village and the panchayat is often perceived by the people as a body sold out to the
rich and the powerful in the area. The fear of reprimand might have been a cause for this
silence as much as a lack of knowledge about the completion of the structure in many
cases.

Relevance of the NREGA works to the village requirements: -

Given the poor water situation in the village and the dismal condition of irrigation
facilities, agriculture has suffered a lot. Water harvesting structures are of greatest need.
Thus, according to local residents, wells are the most needed structures locally, followed
by roads and then ponds. The amount of construction is distributed in line with this need.
Further, Kusmi block is even higher in altitude than Siddhi block therefore at some of the
higher villages, water availability is very poor. It was mentioned by locals, that
‘construction of water harvesting structures under NREGA to collect water which runs
off from these hills would be very useful. Such works should definitely be taken up in the
future’

Support Facilities

32
Sidhi, the whole, reports provision of medium level of provision of support facilities at
the worksite with drinking water reported by about 60% of the respondents. Shade and
presence of medical aid was reported by around 50% of the respondents and crèches at
the work site were reported by 20% respondents.

Wages
Overall, the average daily wage was Rs. 57.7 in the district. The total wage disbursement
among the 314 individuals from 314 survey households in Siddhi district was Rs.
6,74,123. Thus on average, the wage payment received by each household was Rs 2146.
This is an improvement over Nuapada but still way below the minimum wage guaranteed
by the act. The table below depicts the average daily wage by type of work done.

Variation in the average daily wage earned by people working on different works
Average Daily Wage earned by
workers working under different
Type Of Work categories of work
Road Connectivity 59.79
Flood Control and Protection 59.28
Water Conservation and Harvesting 52.9
Drought Proofing 64.46
Micro Irrigation Works 46.11
Provision of Irrigation to land owned
by SC, ST, OBC etc 49.73
Renovation of Traditional Water
Bodies 53.23
Land Development 60
Other Activities 61.42
Total 56.33

Looking at the table we can see clearly that the average daily wage ranges between Rs.
46 for micro irrigation works, to Rs. 64 for drought proofing works. This may
substantiate the hypothesis that the wage paid for construction of wells etc. would be
lower than that for other works. The average daily wage for road construction is around
Rs. 60 which is why most people prefer to work on road construction rather on
construction of wells or other water conservation works for which wages are much lower.

33
We see a clear linkage between less focus on water conservation activities and the wage
structure under the Act. Irrational wage calculation formula has made productive assets
creation less lucrative to local communities in term of accessing minimum wage on time.
Under NREGA wage is paid on the basis of task rate i.e. minimum wage based on
completion of a specified amount of work. As reports pour in on irregular and less than
the basic minimum daily wage payment under the Act, Panchayats are asking for more
road construction works where average wages are higher than wages given under water
related works. This means in future more and more road construction works will be
covered bypassing water conservation works. This Is clear in our data as disparity in
wages between people working on different projects has skewed the number of works
undertaken in favour of road construction in Sidhi.

People working on well construction and repair generally get a lower wage. As
construction of a well requires the workers to dig deeper into hard rock and wet mud
which is more difficult to remove, the work progresses slowly as compared to pond and
road construction. Since wages are paid on a task basis, such workers get a lower wage.
This problem is there in the entire district and there is a huge demand to increase wages
for people working on wells. Survey data shows the average daily wage earned by
workers working on rural connectivity projects to be higher at Rs. 59.8 compared to
workers working on water conservation works who are paid Rs. 52.9 on an average.
However, the highest average wage, at Rs. 64, is earned by those working on drought
proofing projects.

Sidhi took up digging of wells extensively using NREGA. But the wage earning from
well digging was much less than wage from road construction. This resulted in
Panchayats asking for more road construction works. However, a recent revise in wage
rate has made earning from both the activities at par.

Field observations and respondent interviews as well as a closer look at data suggests that
there is bad planning for the water conservation structures and a lack of maintenance are

34
already putting a large number of the assets created into disuse. Water harvesting
structures have been created without any provision for catchment protection. For
example, Kanchanpur village in Kusmi block has built three huge tanks under NREGA;
their catchments are in forest areas. “Most of the catchments are degraded and the forest
department doesn’t allow us to treat them. So I am sure that in two years, the
tanks would be silted up,” says Kunwar Singh, a social worker based in Sidhi. Earlier, the
village had constructed three check dams; all of them have silted up beyond repair.

Sidhi also has been a good example of water and soil conservation under the state’s Rajiv
Gandhi Watershed Development Mission. The programme has covered the entire natural
drainage system. The district now faces a problem of plenty: many villages don’t want
new water harvesting structures being built under NREGA. Rather, they want NREGA
money to be spent on maintaining the existing structures.

Impact of NREGA on
Forest Dependency
Kusmi block in general is well endowed with forests compared to Sidhi and consequently
displays a high dependence on forest resources. People gather fuelwood, Kandh, Mool,
Mahua, roots, fruits and leaves for making plates etc. Collection of Tendu leaves is an
important economic activity as well. In Sidhi block, only Mata village has a high amount
of forest dependency due to its proximity to the forests. Almost 72% respondents report
high dependence on forests in Kusmi while in Sidhi block only 45% feel so.

Field observations on the impact of the NREGA on forest dependence confirmed that due
to the alternate livelihood option provided by the NREGA, the dependence of the local
communities on forest products had reduced to some extent. Data on this could not be
obtained, however, local organizations working in the area mentioned how NREGA gave
people the wages near their houses reducing their need to sell forest produce to earn a few
rupees and spending a lot of time in the collection of resources in the process. It is
unlikely that NREGA would have a direct impact on the collection of forest by-products
like fuelwood, fodder collection etc. within a couple of years of its existence. And it is

35
too early to access if NREGA has led to an increase in availability of alternative sources
that reduce forest dependency. The findings are therefore inconclusive.

Agriculture
NREGA has had a positive impact on agriculture in the district through improved access
to irrigation. Prior to the NREGA, sources for irrigation were very few only one crop was
sown in Rabi. Post NREGA, with the construction of ponds and tanks as well as wells on
SC, ST land irrigation facilities have shown a marked improvement. A number of SC, ST
households in our sample reported a second crop in Kharif along with a crop in Rabi
season. A number of households have even diversified into vegetables. With the last year
witnessing a near-dry spell, the benefits of the village ponds could not be measured but
the people were upbeat about the possibility of storing more water than before when the
rains arrive this year.

Despite the dry conditions the water table did not fall dramatically in 2007-08 due to the
benefits of water conservation done in the previous year. Here, the role of the watersheds
constructed under the Rajiv Gandhi Watershed Development Programme is highly
significant in raising and maintaining the ground water levels. This work was furthered
under NREGA with most ponds having been constructed on panchayat land; the wells
have been constructed on private land. Also, maintenance of old structures has been
carried out under NREGA. The owner of these well often lends water to others in the
village for a small fee of Rs. 10-20 per hour depending on the size of the pump used for
irrigation. This has increased the income for these households and the problems of
drinking water scarcity have become a thing of the past.

Respondents also report an increase in area after the work done under NREGA over the
last 2 years. Around 55% of the respondents together report an increase of 371.6 acres
area under crops. This land was previously left fallow. There has been a change in the
cropping pattern as well with a number of respondents reporting a switch over to wheat
and even rice in a few cases from traditional millets. Around 55.5% of the respondents
reported diversification of crops over previous years. Crops like Jawar, Bajra, Kodo,

36
Makka and Arhar have been replaced by wheat, gram and vegetables due to increased
irrigation water availability.

These are the kind of impacts that the NREGA has the potential to spread across the
country and such examples though few , can surely increase if the focus of the act
remains firmly entrenched in water conservation. Also, this is the kind of livelihood
security and generation of sustainable employment that the act sought to provide in the
first place.

Availability of Water
The data on impact of NREGA on availability of water brings forth very significant
results. Compared to Nuapada, where very few works have been undertaken under
NREGA, and only 15.38% of the respondents attributed NREGA works increased water
availability; in Sidhi district, where a large number of works have been undertaken in
each village, 78.6% of the respondents agreed that NREGA had led to increased water
availability. The changes discussed in agriculture are in themselves a testament for the
good work carried out in the district as well as the development potential of act.

Migration
Sidhi witnesses large scale migration during the winter months of December till February
or early March. The labourers come back during March-April for the harvest season of
rabi crop and to prepare for the monsoons. With NREGA works concentrated in January
and February as well as summer months, these people now have the option to stay within
the village instead of migrating outside looking for work. In our sample, migration has
reduced by around 60% due to availability of work under NREGA. However, a lot of
people feel the 100 days per family is not enough. If each member in a family of 5 works
under NREGA, then they can only work for 20 days in a year which is not sufficient to
pass through the entire lean season. So they have to migrate the rest of the year. Even the
women accompany them in the migration when the work is suitable. Around 20-25%
women accompany their husbands in migration.

37
According to the survey, 73 respondents said they had migrated at least once in the past
two years. The average duration of migration for those over the past two years was 140
days. This implies that they migrate out of the village for over 20% of the year (around 2
½ months per year). However, we do not have data for the migration before the launch of
the NREGA and hence cannot compare the reduction brought about because of it. This is
a massive reduction though the figures might not be representative as the rates of
migration in other parts of the district might vary. This is a huge success for the NREGA
and a significant step in the direction of attaining the short term objective of food and
livelihood security within the village throughout the year.

However, despite the large availability of work in Sidhi migration has not ceased
completely. We could observe two probable explanations for this. One is the fact that
educated individuals do not want to work under NREGA and would rather migrate in
search for better opportunities. This is verified by the data as the proportion of literate
individuals among those who migrate was much higher than the illiterate. While the
proportion of literate individuals was 51% overall, the proportion of literate persons
among the migrants was a much higher 62%. Further, the stipulated 100 days per
household is hardly enough for a family of reasonable size to pass through the entire lean
season when there is no work for months. Even these 100 days are rarely provided.
Within Siddhi district, the provision of work at an average of 48 days per person is
significantly higher in Kusmi block than in Siddhi block where the average provision is
around 32.3 days. This could be a reflection of the much higher demand for work in
Kusmi than in Siddhi block due to the absence of alternative means of livelihood.

38
Comparative Analysis of the Impact of NREGA in the two districts
-Sidhi and Nuapada

The cumulative general level of awareness about NREGA for the entire study is quite
high at 87.24%. A comparison of the two districts in terms of level of awareness does not
depict a huge amount of disparity. Awareness in Sidhi at 90% is slightly higher than in
Nuapada at 84.5%. However, a more disaggregated analysis shows that there is a large
amount of disparity within different sections of society. A caste-wise distribution of
awareness indicators shows that the level of awareness is much lower among ST’s and
OBC’s as compared to people belonging to the general category.

Castewise distribution of level of Awareness about the NREGA

Caste People Aware about NREGA People Unaware Total
ST Number 204 33 237
Percentage 86.08 13.92 100

SC Number 71 8 79
Percentage 89.87 10.13 100

OBC Number 112 19 131

Percentage 85.5 14.5 100

GENERAL Number 26 1 27
Percentage 96.3 3.7 100

TOTAL Total 413 61 474

87.13 12.87 100

While awareness about the existence of the act is high among the entire sample, there is
very little awareness about the various provisions of the act. This was described by most
investigators as the basic problem behind the implementation of the Act.

Provision of the NREGA Percentage of respondents who know about it

100 days per household 95%
Minimum wage 94.30%
Knowledge about correct minimum wage 82%
Provision of creche/shade/water etc 19%

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Work within 5 km 25%
Universal Act and Scheme 7.86%
Role of Gram Sabha 8.30%

While almost all respondents were aware of the provision of 100 days of work per
household and the minimum wage, very few knew about the other provisions such as
provision of crèche/shade/water etc(19%), work within five kilometers (25%), universal
character of the Act and Scheme (7.86%), and role of gram Sabha. (8.3%). There is thus a
ever present need to adopt new techniques to spread awareness about the provisions of
the Act. Also, socially disadvantaged groups need to be specially targeted with more
focused awareness campaigns about relevant provisions of the Act. This is especially
required to spread awareness about the entitlements of the people according to the act in
order that they may demand their entitlement.

Our survey has also looked at the most effective medium of disseminating information
about the NREGA. Two major sources that come to the fore are panchayats and NGO
representatives. 53.5% of the respondents came to hear about the NREGA through
panchayats making them the most effective transmitter of information. NGOs come next
in terms of generation of awareness as 25% of the respondents source their knowledge to
NGOs. The NGO’s in Sidhi have played a particularly significant role where they seem
to have made a huge impact in terms of making people aware of their rights. The
government sadly finds itself in a spot in terms of devising ways to reach out to the
masses.

Medium of Creation of Awareness among the respondents

Number of Percentage of respondents aware of NREGA
People through this medium
Newspaper 51 11.92
Radio 32 7.48
Television 6 1.4
NGO
Representative 109 25.47
Pachayat 229 53.5
Govt. Officials 1 0.23
Total 428 100

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Demand for the work
Even with the current levels of awareness the demand for work under NREGA is huge. A
mere 9% of the respondents wished less than 100 days of employment, about 34 % stated
that they would want to work for 100 days while the remaining 57% said they want work
for more than 100 days. The average number of days demanded from the entire sample of
480 households is 141 at the going wage rate. However, a district wise study of demand
presents some interesting finding. The demand in Sidhi is much higher at 177 days on
average, then in Nuapada, where the average demand is 108 days. This is
surprising as the level of unemployment and poverty, if anything, is higher in Nuapada
than in Sidhi. However, this might have an explanation in the level of awareness in the
two districts with Nuapada lagging behind in terms of knowledge of the act and its
provisions.
As the findings suggest there is a high potential demand for work under NREGA as many
of the respondents showed a willingness to work for more than 100 days under the act.
The actual person days of employment availed by the households in the sample are much
below even the stipulated 100 days. This might be because of the lack of involvement of
the people in the planning process as that might have resulted in less number of projects
coming to villages.

Impact of NREGA
Water Availability
Water availability has increased significantly due to NREGA in Sidhi district but in
Nuapada there is hardly any impact to report. Further, a look at the caste wise distribution
of responses gives more insight into the situation.

Castewise distribution of Responses about the impact of NREGA on the Availability

of Water
Has the water availability increased due to NREGA work
Caste YES NO
ST 133 70 203
% 65.52 34.48 100

SC 11 62 73

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% 15.07 84.93 100

OBC 46 74 120
% 38.33 61.67 100

General 9 14 23
% 39.13 60.87 100

Total 199 220 419

47.49 52.51 100

The table above presents the caste wise distribution of responses regarding impact of
NREGA on water availability. We can see from the table that the highest proportion of
people who feel that water availability has increased due to NREGA is among the ST’s.
This could possibly be attributed to the fact that the major works undertaken are those of
well repair on private land in Sidhi and the major beneficiaries of this have been the
tribals. While over 91% of the respondents in Siddhi block said that water availability
had increased due to NREGA, only 65% said so in Kusmi block. This could again be
explained by the fact the number of works undertaken in Sidhi block are larger than the
number of works in Kusmi block. The powerful and dominant sarpanch’s in Siddhi
block are able to draw in a large amount of works while the tribal sarpanch’s in Kusmi
are often suppressed and unable to use their power to demand NREGA works for the
villages.

This is however, a very significant finding since it stresses on the huge development
impact of NREGA works in places where they have been carried out properly and in
large numbers.

Another important benefit is from the rural connectivity work being carried out under the
act. Construction of roads has definitely helped in improving the access of these villages
to the main road as well as within the village. In Sidhi for instance these roads
constructed have led to better mobility from village to the main road as well as within the
village specially during monsoon. With movement becoming easier access to market has

42
improved and women too find it easier to walk while fetching water, firewood, fodder
etc. Construction of these roads has also meant construction of bridges over seasonal
streams and these have aided in improving vehicular traffic including bullock carts.

With regards to the effect of these connectivity works as well as the water harvesting
works being carried out women and other marginalized groups have fared a lot better.
Tough the survey findings on the effects on women are not very well spelt out but it is for
anyone to see what improved water harvesting has done for the women in terms of the
time spent in collecting water. In households that have invested in wells o their land in
Sidhi district for instance women have stated during informal discussions that they have
more time on their hands due to the availability of water within the house. This time is
spent on market related activities like buying things, in a few cases in looking after the
small shop/enterprise that the household ran, selling vegetables etc. In the long run,
specially with tribals and poor households in mind, this time freed from collecting water
may translate into better income opportunities.

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 Conclusion

The paper attempts to gauge the prospective impacts of the act in providing sustained
relief to communities by looking at the kind of works being undertaken at the village
level under the act along with its associated realms like wages. Just to reassert our
strategy and the lens through which we look at NREGA, we strive to answer the question
“Why monitor the impacts of NREGA on rural assets?”

From an environmental standpoint, rural employment programmes can play a key role in
improving the rural natural resource base and increasing overall rural production.
Environmental regeneration demands heavy labour inputs -- whether it is reforestation,
construction of water harvesting structures or soil conservation. But since the economic
returns are not immediately apparent, impoverished people are likely to neglect these
tasks. Rural employment programmes can help villagers solve this problem, because they
have the capacity to mobilise impoverished labour in order to regenerate the
environment.

In this scenario, employment schemes such as the NREGA can play a key role since the
bulk of unemployment (nearly 80%) is in rural India. In economic terms, this would be
an investment in building up rural natural capital, which will result in creation of water
harvesting structures to irrigate farmlands and increase crop production and well-stocked
forests and grasslands to support dairy development and a variety of artisanal crafts.
Rural environment's sustainable, employment-supporting capacity can thus go up
substantially.

Looking within the environmental systems in rural India, we see an increasing problem of
land degradation and depletion of natural resources like grasslands and forests, etc.
Though the entire system in itself is important when it come to focusing on re-generation,
time and again it has been shown that wasteland development begins with water and not
trees. Once a water-harvesting system is built and equitable sharing of the water evolved,
the local community becomes involved in protecting and re-greening the catchment of its

44
water system. But this is possible only if the villagers are empowered to plan and decide
their future.

We began from talking about the development potential of act in terms of employment
generation through the creation of productive assets. This has been proved to a large
extent through the findings of the survey specially in Sidhi district. If the structures
created under the act work to their full potential they will create additional employment
for people in the village and benefit the people on a sustained basis. Nuapada has treated
the NREGA more like any other employment scheme. Sidhi, on the other hand realized
the potential of the NREGA and used it as an opportunity to reinvigorate its traditional
ecological balance through the creation of productive assets. Thus, while the programme
has had a nominal impact on the lives and livelihoods of people in Nuapada, it has had a
huge impact on the rural economic structure of Sidhi. In Sidhi, the NREGA can actually
be seen moving towards its short term and long term objective of food and livelihood
security and long term sustainable development through ecological regeneration.

Keeping in mind the immense potential of the act and the findings from our study, below
are mentioned some suggestions that could help improve the functioning of the NREGP

Need to reframe evaluation parameters: NREGA must aim at creation of productive

employment. To make this happen it has to focus more on the creation of productive
assets at the village level.

From the point of view of gauging the development effectiveness of the act the first area
that comes to the fore is the evaluation and monitoring of the act. Instead of the simple
calculations on jobs demanded and provided, the NREGA needs to be evaluated and
monitored on its impact on livelihood security. Currently, the act is monitored by the
majority on the number of jobs created and number of assets created under preferred
works category. The real effectiveness of the scheme though may be measured using
three parameters:
1. Increase in average annual income of households

45
2. Increase in the productivity of small and marginal land holdings
3. Quality and contribution of productive assets like water tanks

By changing the evaluation parameters, the scheme will assume the character of a rural
development scheme in the true sense, instead of a run-of-the-mill wage-earning
programme. This will also help the government to ensure that most of the works taken up
remain within the preferred works category, that is, productive assets.

Works taken up should improve total village ecology

Under the NREGA, as our experience shows, water conservation works are being taken
up as stand-alone activities. Village ecology is a fragile combination of soil, water and
forests. A water harvesting structure, for instance, is rendered useless if its catchments
areas are left unprotected. Works under the scheme need to be planned in totality — to
succeed, water conservation needs to take into account plantation works and drought
proofing. Even the Second Administrative Reforms Commission has recommended that
all works under the Act must be undertaken keeping in mind the overall improvement in
total ecology. This needs to be implemented thoroughly.

Use of a perspective plan prepared by village panchayats

Village-level resource planning and designing ought to be strengthened further. As our
data shows, there is a strong co-relation between people planning their works and the
success of these works. With two years behind the act planning is yet to reach a large
number of villages and gram sabhas. Without a village plan, developed by the villagers
themselves the development impact of the NREGA will be poor.
To make local planning integrated, NREGA works must be allowed in all lands i.e.
private, forest and revenue based on Gram Sabha approval. This requires administrative
order from the forest department. This is crucial as catchments of water structures are
invariably in forest areas.

Setting up institutional mechanism for maintenance of assets.

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Setting up of strong institutional mechanisms to manage and distribute the resources
generated must follow the creation of assets. Poor maintenance and weak institutions are
already rendering productive assets useless. Under the current implementation regime,
maintenance is not covered. While assets are created in large number, the Panchayats are
being told o maintain it. The problem is that Panchayats don’t have the money to
undertake such large-scale maintenance works. Our studies pointed out that due to this
most of the assets are going to be put into disuse.
Also, there should be a binding work completion plan for each asset created. This must
also include the maintenance plan. Further, given the unequal priority given to productive
assets amongst states, NREGA should make provision to fix percentage of works in
sector like water conservation. This should be done changing the NREGA.

Capacity Building of the elected Panchayat Members

Right capacity building of the elected Panchayat members must follow devolution.
Training of government officials on the NREGA should be accorded priority. At the same
time, Panchayat members must be included in the process so that they know the scheme
well and can exercise rights effectively. Local experiences point at government officials
dictating Panchayat members on the nature of works, citing vague government orders.
This takes away the Panchayats’ powers under the Act, and has to be rectified
immediately.

Devolution of functions, funds and functionaries to Panchayats must be a condition for

states to implement the NREGA. Though it is difficult given that the programme is
demand driven, but Union government can offer fiscal incentive to states with such
devolutions. As in other rural development programmes like BRGF preparation of district
plan has been made compulsory, the NREGA must also be made conditional.

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