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Rural job scheme yet to gain momentum in many districts

— FILE PHOTO

MUCH IS LEFT TO BE DONE: Watershed development work being taken up under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act at Soodi village in Ron taluk of Gadag district.

BANGALORE: Karnataka is lagging behind in the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), a flagship programme of the Union Government, when compared to the performance of the three other southern States where the programme has also been implemented. In fact, the scheme is yet to take off in 18 districts, some of which have been categorised as backward.

The scheme, which was extended to 29 districts in the State in 2008-09, has not lived up to its potential for transforming livelihoods in rural Karnataka.

In terms of fund utilisation, Karnataka ranked the last among the southern States. The State had spent only 27 per cent (Rs. 131.78 crore) of the available funds (Rs. 468.08 crore) as on October 31, 2008.

This is far lower than the 68 per cent spending achieved by Andhra Pradesh, 59 per cent by Tamil Nadu and 49 per cent by Kerala. Among the four States, Andhra Pradesh has spent the largest sum of Rs. 1,879.85 crore.

A directorate for NREGA has been set up in Karnataka. But the scheme is yet to pick up momentum in a majority of the districts. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has, in a 2007 report, criticised the Government for laxity in the implementation of the scheme, and for the non-distribution of job cards.

Low wages (Rs. 82 per day) are a major reason for the poor turnout under the scheme. “The rural people will come to work only if the wages are increased to Rs. 150 a day,” says Minister for Labour B.N. Bachche Gowda.

Availability of higher paying jobs in the construction industry and plantations, the absence of adequate support from gram panchayats, the lack of awareness among the rural poor and the frequent transfer of the State project director have had telling impact on the results.

Starting with five districts in Karnataka in Phase I in 2006-07, NREGA was extended to an additional six districts in Phase II in 2007-08. On April 1, 2008, the scheme was extended to the entire State. The scheme aims at enhancing the livelihood security of the people in rural areas by guaranteeing 100 days of employment in a financial year to a rural household whose members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.

Since the launch of the scheme, Karnataka has spent Rs. 619 crore and provided jobs to 15.18 lakh households. According to the State Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (RDPR) Department, the scheme is yet to pick up momentum in 18 districts included in Phase III. No money has been spent and no job has been provided till October last in Bangalore Urban and Rural, Chikkaballapur, Dakshina Kannada, Kolar, Ramanagaram, Tumkur and Udupi districts. Of the sanctioned Rs. 112.38 crore to 18 districts in Phase III, only Rs. 7.16 crore has been utilised (6.37 per cent).

The scheme has evoked a good response in Bidar, Gulbarga, Raichur, Davangere and Chitradurga districts, all covered in the first phase. All these are backward districts, and they have spent 41.75 per cent of the sanctioned fund (Rs. 230.70 crore).

The response to the scheme in the second phase was mixed in the following districts: Bellary, Belgaum, Chikmagalur, Hassan, Kogadu and Shimoga. The response was good in Bellary district, it was poor in Malnad districts of Chikmagalur and Shimoga. The six districts utilised 20 per cent of the available funds (Rs. 139.46 crore). In terms of the percentage of utilisation of funds, Bellary ranked first (78 per cent) followed by Bidar (76), Gadag (51), Gulbarga (40), Davangere (34) and Chitradurga (27 per cent).

Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Shobha Karandlaje said the Government has proposed to increase the wages to Rs. 100 a day. However, farmers have expressed the fear that they would not get workers for farm-related work, particularly in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, she said.

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