NREGS watchdog rejects proposal for skill development

It had also suggested that the said change should primarily focus upon skill development in the artisan sector,such as handlooms and handicrafts.

The Central Employment Guarantee Council CEGC the apex monitoring agency for the implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme NREGS on Thursday rejected the suggestion of the Prime Ministers National Council on Skill Developments NCSD to include providing skill development to unskilled wage seekers under the scheme.

While agreeing that skill development was necessary,it was decided that adding the additional feature into the NREGS may not be viable given the several teething problems in the implementation need to be fixed. This may also mean a departure from the basic philosophy of the NREGS, CEGC member Sanjay Dixit told The Indian Express after the councils meeting on Thursday.

Another CEGC member,Nikhil Dey of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan,too,objected to the suggestion with many other members suggesting the Rural Development Ministry to undertake skill development of unskilled workers under its other programmes.

The NCSD had recently suggested the Rural Development Ministry to consider amending the preamble and Schedule 1 of the NREG Act to provide skill development training to workers having completed stipulated number of days of unskilled manual labour in the list of works allowed under the scheme. It had also suggested that the said change should primarily focus upon skill development in the artisan sector,such as handlooms and handicrafts.

Sources,however,said the NCSDs suggestion got support from former NASSCOM president and Rajya Sabha member Mabel Rebello. But the representative from the Maharashtra government reportedly argued against the proposal,citing that local government functionaries were already burdened to honour the spirit of the NREGS programme.

In another decision,the CEGC reportedly agreed against stopping the flow of funds to the districts where malpractices are reported and action is not taken. Instead,the meeting suggested that the Centre should use the provisions in the NREG Act to ensure that senior district-levelofficers are punished for letting the malpractices continue.