Monitoring of mahatama gandhi national rural employment guarantee scheme in kulgam district of jammu and kashmir

Abstract

The study entitled "Monitoring of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in Kulgam District of Jammu and Kashmir" is an attempt to assess the implementation of this Scheme. It brings out the violations of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) guidelines. It is based on the analysis of both primary and secondary data.The methodology entails multi-stage sampling method. Kulgam district was selected on the basis of maximum number of projects completed and maximum number of employment days generated during the reference year 2011-12. Further, two Blocks namely Kulgam and D .H. Pora were selected on the basis of maximum funds received during the reference year 2011-12.One Halqa Panchayat namely Checkpora-Bemdora and Manzgam-A were randomly selected from Blocks Kulgam and D. H. Pora respectively. One worksite in each selected Panchayat was also visited to collect the necessary information concerning the implementation of the Scheme. It was found that the study area had an effective mechanism of registration, job card issuance, employment provision (100%) and wage disbursement through bank accounts (100%). Work was provided within the village, equal wages were paid to men and womenand the quality of the assets was satisfactory. However, some serious deficiencies in the implementation of the Scheme were identified which include involvement of Contractors and use of labour displacing machinery, less than stipulated women participation rate,lack of worksite facilities, use of rough account (Kacha Khata), less participation of workers in Employment Guarantee Day and Halqa Majlis (Gram Sabha), provision of lesser than stipulated employment days, wage payment delays, inadequate staffing, lack of institutional arrangements and absence of Social Audit. It is suggested that more intensive monitoring/concurrent evaluation of MGNREGS may be done at the State/District level. State Government should address the manpower shortage and ensure strict compliance with the MGNREGA guidelines to correct the above mentioned deficiencies. However, the implementation of the Act has resulted in democratic decentralization, women empowerment, financial inclusion, rural infrastructure development, improved rural livelihood resource base, more employment generation and improvement in the standard of living of the rural people.