Poor performer

Karnataka has earned the dubious distinction of being the least transparent state with regard to implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). While Karnataka stands at the bottom of a list of 21 states whose performance was assessed in a survey conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and the Public Interest Foundation, its neighbours Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala figure among the toppers. Karnataka has not conducted social audit in gram panchayats. Funds allotted for the scheme are being pilfered on a massive scale. This means that money is not reaching the intended beneficiaries of the scheme, i.e. poor rural families. The NREGS aims at improving livelihood security of rural Indians. Under this scheme one adult from every rural family is entitled to a job for at least 100 days per year. In Karnataka, labourers are being paid Rs 82 per day, which is the minimum wage rate in the state.

Several problems have crippled the NREGS in Karnataka. Response to the scheme is said to be rather lukewarm. It is believed that while some find the daily wage low and prefer to look for other options in cities, most of the rural poor in the state are not aware of the scheme or of their legal right to 100 days of employment. It is evident now that in addition to these problems, people are perhaps not receiving the money due to them because of rampant corruption in the scheme’s implementation. The Comptroller and Auditor General’s report released in January last year pointed to irregularities in NREGS implementation across the country. It found that funds were being misused and allocated for work that had not been done. It drew attention to the absence of proper review and monitoring mechanisms. It is obvious that the Karnataka government did not pay heed to the findings of the CAG’s report.

The NREGS holds out the potential of transforming the lives of millions of households. It not only guarantees some work and a minimum wage but also, the work done contributes to building rural infrastructure. Labourers dig wells, build bunds and work on soil and water conservation, and afforestation projects. In the process of enhancing the livelihood security of rural Indians, NREGS builds social and economic assets. Its proper implementation should be the government’s priority. Karnataka needs to pull up its socks with regard to its performance on the scheme.