Development programmes may converge with NREGS

Back in power after cashing in on its social sector programmes,the UPA government is all set to re-draw its flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme....

Back in power after cashing in on its social sector programmes,the UPA government is all set to re-draw its flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) by converging it with “similar rural development schemes as it is likely to generate more employment avenues. The government is contemplating bringing out convergibility guidelines to strengthen the flagship scheme to ensure livelihood to the rural masses.

The Planning Commission,which is working with the rural development ministry to finalise the guidelines,argues that the proposal will help the government meet demands for a hike in wages under NREGS and increase in the number of ensured employment days. Converging NREGS with other schemes will allow the government to increase wages and the number of days of employment to households, plan panel member Mihir Shah,who has been assigned to oversee the rural development sector,told The Indian Express.

The guidelines would allow the funding of a component of one flagship scheme by another. For example,to build a school under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan,the labour component could be provided through NREGS. This would facilitate the generation of more employment avenues without burdening on the government. Converging NREGS with other programmes for rural livelihoods would carry this momentum forward in positive upward spirals,which will broadbase the growth process via downstream multiplier-accelerator effects, Shah added.

Arguing that merely doling out money through direct cash transfers was not enough,Shah pointed out that it was imperative to ensure the translation of outlays into outcomes by putting appropriate mechanisms into place. This includes deployment of high-quality manpower and a transparent system that would ensure accountability and stakeholder participation. In the interim Budget 2009-10,the government had allocated Rs 30,100 crore for the NREGS,as against Rs 36,750 crore in the previous year.

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