A Critical Evaluation of MRNEGA: A Study on Birbhum District of West Bengal, India

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1 Management and Administrative Sciences Review ISSN: Volume: 2, Issue: 2, Pages: Academy of Business & Scientific Research Case Study A Critical Evaluation of MRNEGA: A Study on Birbhum District of West Bengal, India Bairagya Ramsundar 1*, and Sarkar Shubhabrata 2 1. Department of Economics, SambhuNath College, Labpur, Birbhum, West Bengal, India. 2. Department of Commerce, Sundarban Mahavidyalaya, Kakdwip, South-24 Pargana, West Bengal, India. Employment Guarantee scheme is a new concept in India, but it has a long past since In Britain Poor Employment Act was passed in 1817 to ensure employment to the poor. MGNREGA works are largely focused on land and water resources which include: water harvesting and conservation, soil conservation and protection, irrigation provisioning and improvement, renovation of traditional water bodies, land development and drought proofing. The paper critically evaluates the overall success of the MGNREGA in the light of a case study on Birbhum district of West Bengal. Keywords: bio-diversity; land development; drought proofing; pollution; poverty; water scarcity INTRODUCTION The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 provide for the enhancement of the livelihood security for the households in rural areas of the country by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment to every household (in every financial year) whose adult members are volunteer to do unskilled manual work and for and for maters connected therewith or incidental there to. It extends whole of India except the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Act came into force on February 2, 2006 and was implemented in a phased manner. In Phase I it was introduced in 200 of the most backward districts of the country. It was implemented in an additional 130 districts in Phase II in The Act was notified in the remaining 285 rural districts of India from April 1, 2008 in Phase III. The Scheme offers a statutory minimum wage of Rs. 120 for each job holder per day in 2009 prices. The Central Government outlay for this scheme was Rs billion during financial years. The Act directs the state Governments to implement MGNREGA Scheme and the Central Government meets the 3/4th of the total wage payment and 1/4th by the state Council. The NREGA scheme was launched on February 6, 2006, in different districts of West Bengal in 3- phase manner. In the phase I ( ) include 10 districts, in the phase II (2007-8) includes 7 districts and in the phase III ( ) includes remaining 2 districts. The district Birbhum falls in the phase I of the operation of the scheme in West Bengal. The 3-tier Panchayat system in West Bengal the NREGA scheme was implemented through GPs for identification, execution and proper supervision. The total financial outlay for the state of West Bengal under this scheme for the financial year was Rs crores and for the financial year was Rs crores. During the *Corresponding author: Bairagya Ramsundar, Department of Economics, SambhuNath College, Labpur, Birbhum, West Bengal, India. ramsundarbairagya@gmail.com; Mobile No.: ; Fax:

2 A Critical Evaluation of MRNEGA Case Study year , the total number of mandays generation projected was lakhs and achieved crores and the same figures during the year were crores and crores. The Act also seeks to create durable assets to augment land and water resources, improve rural connectivity and strengthen the basic needs of the rural poor. MGNREGA works are largely focused on land and water resources which include: water harvesting and conservation, soil conservation and protection, irrigation provisioning and improvement, renovation of traditional water bodies, land development and drought proofing. These MGNREGA have the potential to generate environmental benefits such as ground recharge, soil, water and bio-diversity conservation, reducing land degradation, control rainfall, drought and floods (Tiwari et al, 2011, MoRD, 2012). The middlemen contractors are totally banned as they reduce employment. 100% of wage payments for labourers are mandatory on account of the labour to rise saving habits of the common masses. The study was confined to the rural areas of Birbhum district of West Bengal for the critical evaluation of the implementation of the programme of MGNREGA in the light of sustainable development. Objectives The main objectives of the study were to analyse the environmental benefits and social development through MGNREGA. The study was mainly focused on the impacts of MGNREGA related to natural resources include soil, ground water, surface water, grazing lands, roads, plantations, fishery, live stocks etc. The main objectives were to create wage employment for the rural sustainable livelihood through generation of natural resource, to raise productive capacity of the economy. The paper also analyzes the extent of women participation. The final objective is to provide suggestions regarding how the program can be more fruitfully employed for getting benefits to the poor. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Mukherjee S. and Ghosh Saswata (2008): In their paper What Determiners the Success of 100 Days Work at Panchayat Level? A Study of Birbhum district in West Bengal, they critically examined the NREGA Scheme in Birbhum district. Their major findings were most of the rural households applied for job cards and everybody knows about NREGA. They suggested some formal training regarding NREGA at GP level to achieve the common goal. Shenbagaraj P. and Arockiasamy S. (2013): Impacts of MGNREGA ON Local Development: A Study of Ottapidaram Blocks in Thoothukudi District, Tamil Nadu, they proposed that the scheme was able to provide only 26 days of employment in a year on an average of the Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu. Moreover they claimed that the average earnings by each person did not exceed Rs. 200 per year. Mukhopadhyay M. (2006): He analysed the geographical features like rainfall, agriculture, irrigation, pattern of industries etc of Birbhum district. Patel (2006) viewed that in the first phase of the EGS of Maharashtra, the mobilization around EGS was able to initiate the growth of radical socioeconomic consciousness among the poor, but the fact that the movement was unable to sustain these struggles of social transformations is indicative of the structural inequalities inherent in the modern Indian society. Moreover she states that like all development schemes EGS too can be co-opted and used as an instrument of domination by the landed class. Saith (1992) viewed that, in developing economies, a high incidence of rural poverty is found to coexist with a high rate of participation of rural population in non-farm activities. Subbarao (1997) concluded that, the level of the wage rate is critical in determining the distribution of benefits from the program, as well as how much of the program is targeted towards the poor. A BRIEF PROFILE OF BIRBHUM DISTRICT Location of study area 172

3 Manag. Adm. Sci. Rev. ISSN: Volume: 2, Issue: 2, Pages: The state of West Bengal lies between latitude / to / North and longitude / to / East. The district lies between / 30 // and / 00 // North Latitudes and / 40 // and / 25 // East Longitudes. The present study was confined to survey the two rural blocks of Birbhum district West Bengal. History Birbhum is a part of Rarha area, the social system and landscape being much akin to the Rarha areas of Murshidabad, Bankura, Burdwan and Midnapore districts of West Bengal. In the introduction of The Annals of Rural Bengal, Hunter states that the name of the district Birbhum comes from Vir-Bhumi, i.e. the land of the heroes. From the historical records it is fairly clear that the district included in Rarha was mainly under different Hindu rulers. The district was named Birbhum to indicate simply the territory of the Bir Rajas. As per the archaeological survey, the region existed and inhabited even in the prehistoric times. The architectural trappings of the Stone Age have been unearthed in several parts of the district. Mahavira and Gautam Buddha had navigated this Rarha region (O Malley, 1996). Thus it can be ascertained that the cultural progress of Birbhum dates back to the 5th century B.C. Circa. The district was dominated by different dynasties like Mouryas, Guptas, Senas, and Palas etc. The Chinese traveler Wang Chung alludes to some of the monasteries, he visited in the 7th century A.D. During the British rule and until the Santhal rebellion ( ) the parts of Birbhum was administered by the Murshidabad administrative unit. Boundary The district Birbhum is situated in the westernmost part of West Bengal and on the northern part of the Burdwan Division of West Bengal. In shape it looks like an isosceles triangle. Birbhum is bounded on the North and West by the district of Santhal Parganas of Jharkhand State, on the East by the districts Murshidabad and Burdwan and on the South by Burdwan district of West Bengal, from which it is separated by the river Ajoy. Several temples and Shaktipeets like Tarapith, Bakreswar, Nalhati, Labpur and Kankalitala are the famous tourist spots in this district. Area and population characteristics According to the census report of 2011, the total population of this district was 35, 02,387 of which 17, 91,017 were males and 17, were females. But in 2001census, the total population of this district was 30, 15,422 of which 15, 46,633 were males and 14, 68,789 were females. The total area of the district is 4545 sq. km. The density of population was 771 per sq.km in 2011 and 663 in According to 2011 census % live in urban region in this district. In actual figure a total of 4, 48,368 live in urban areas out of which 2, 28,538 are males and 2, 19,830 are females. There is no urban agglomeration inside Birbhum District. The over-all sex ratio and child sex ratio in urban region in this district were 962 and 963 respectively. The child population (1-6 ages) in urban region in this district was a total of 44,487 out of which 23,198 were males and 21,649 were females. The child population occupied 10.15% of total urban population. The literacy rate was 70.68% (male 76.92% and female 64.14%). The rural literacy rate was 69.10% (male 75.56% and female 62.33%) and urban literacy rate was 81.07% (male 85.97% and female 76.01%). India s flagship programme Sarva Siksha Abhijan launched in to universalise elementary education and also for the Mid-day Meal Programme the overall literacy rate has remarkably increased. It is also interesting that female literacy rate also increase and the male-female literacy gap is reduced. During the period 2001 to 2011 the growth rate of population was 17.99% per annum while the same figure in the last decades was 16.15%. The sex ratio of the district in 2011 was 956 females per1000 males and the same figure in 2001 was 950. Irrigation The total irrigated area in this district is 2, 97,093 Ha. The area irrigated by govt. canal is 1, 71,403 Ha. by private tanks is Ha., by dug well is 350 Ha., by deep and shallow tube well is Ha. and by other sources is Ha. The number of deep tub wells is 51, river lift irrigation 114, Bairagya Ramsundar & Sarkar Shubhabrata

4 A Critical Evaluation of MRNEGA Case Study shallow tube wells 7,600, dug well 720 and tanks Some river valley projects in this district have been adopted for better utilization of irrigation water, generation of hydel power, control of flood and checking of soil erosion. The main projects are Mayurakshi River Valley Project, Higlo Project, Dwarka Project and Brahmani Project. Across the river Mayurakshi, a reservoir dam has been constructed at Massanjore on Dumka Hill (Jharkhand State) and a barrage has been constructed at Tilpara near Suri. The Tilpara barrage has two canal systems the north bank canal and the south bank canal which provide irrigation facilities to the district. METHODOLOGY Collection of data Data were collected from various secondary sources like from District NREGA Cell, Birbhum district, West Bengal. Different block level (19) data are also collected form the Key Statistics, Birbhum and from the Census Report Through compilation and manipulation of these data some statistical tables, graphs are also used for critical evaluation of the scheme. The secondary data sources will be different reports of government especially reports from the office of the District Collectorate and the office of the Block Development Officer in district level and block level respectively, reports from different research organizations, individual researches (i.e. research working papers and research articles in reputed journals) in similar field and from Results and discussion According to official state statistics of West Bengal in the year 2012 the total employment provided to households were lakhs and the person s man days was lakhs. Among which SCs were lakhs (i.e %), STs were lakhs (i.e. 9.81%), Women were lakhs (i.e %) and others were lakhs (i.e %). The number of total works taken up was among which works completed were and works in progress were As on 16th June 2013 the total number of household employed was and persons generated was for the state as whole. TABLE 1 HERE The table shows that in the district the participation among various castes are SCs (40.68%), STs (9.9%), Women (27%) and others (49.42%). This also indicates that there is large women participation under this scheme. Not only that the SCs and STs are also significantly high participation in this district. This also implies a large number of rural poor are participated under this scheme. FIGURE 1 HERE TABLE 2 HERE FIGURE 2 HERE From the above analysis it is clear that women participation has remarkably increased through NREGA scheme. Some people from general caste category are also included in this scheme and there is no caste bar. Each household has one job card for any caste. This simply develops to work jointly with various community people i.e. there is reduction gap among the owner and the labouring class. The scheme has a vital role to reduce poverty and unemployment. Through the implementation of the scheme the income of the rural people definitely raised and hence their livelihood, better standard of living by availing better education system and medical facilities improve health and BMI. Through the 100 days work some new roads are made and repaired and hence rural connectivity is definitely raised. TABLE 3 HERE FIGURE 3 HERE The NREGA has an important role in pollutionary aspect. Thales ( BC), The origin of all matter is water. Water is the essential component of life i.e. water is life. Scarcity of water is the modern day tragedy. This water scarcity can be solved through NREGA by digging new ponds or renovation, water recharge and storage. These pond water can be used multipurpose fully like in agriculture, fishery etc. Hence through the operation of this scheme a multiplier employment generation may be solved in the long-run. Through plantation the pollution can be controlled. 174

5 Manag. Adm. Sci. Rev. ISSN: Volume: 2, Issue: 2, Pages: The major drawback of this scheme is that the value of work has diminished. There is a tendency for the common to earn only income not for social work i.e. the corruption among the various classes has increased through GP system. But the social motto of the establishment of the 3-tier GP was to decentralized social as well as economic power in Gandhian philosophy. But through political participation some local greedy leaders earn more money apart from the reality and moral philosophy. The scheme must be controlled by the beneficiary bank account holder only. The district is primarily an agricultural base system. But for NREGA shortage of agricultural labour is the ultimate result. This raises the wage rate of agricultural labour and the poor farmers loose from agriculture. Moreover the productivity of the agricultural labour definitely falls. There is a tendency grew for the labour to work only in 100 days scheme but not in agricultural farming i.e. only to earn money not to work. Finally agricultural labour wage rate is abnormally high and working time reduced. The may be somehow checked if the 100 days work are implement in the lean seasons only. SUGGESTIONS In a capitalistic system income in-equality in income distribution is the main feature. For this reduction of in-equality in income distribution the scheme was developed. The governmental objective was to give some money to the poor through social development. If we have to success to achieve this goal the scheme will be operated through some non-government organization and not through GP. Agriculture must be allied with other sectors i.e. multipurpose. To reduce pollution the scheme must be stressed in a full fledged manner to all the job card holders. The MGNREGA has an important role in reduction of environment pollution and climate risk. The implementation of MGNREGA works such as water conservation, drought proofing, irrigation, renovation of traditional water bodies, storage of ground water etc. The scheme has an important role on land resources through enhancement in soil organic matter, reduction in soil erosion, plantations etc. CONCLUSION Though there are some limitations the study indicates that the introduction of the programme of MGNREGA had a clear positive impact on the rural economy through employment and income generation and also through raising the standard of living and socio-economic performance of the rural community of the district. So it is recommended that the present programme should be further spread in the rural areas by means of proper planning, adequate supervision, effective implementation and better monitoring. The MGNREGA scheme should not be confined into 100 day s work for wage earners income only. It must be merged with various co-operative societies, Self Help Group (SHG) and with microfinance. REFERENCES Basu, Arnab K. (2011). Impact of Rural Employment Guarantee Schemes on Seasonal Labor Market: Optimum Compensation and Workers Welfare, Discussion paper no. 5701, College of William and Mary, ZEF, University of Bonn and IZA, Mimeo. Birbhum District: Census Data, Source: co.in/census/district/8- birbhum.html Mukherjee, S. and Ghosh, Saswata, (2008). What Determiners the Success of 100 Days Work at Panchayat Level? A Study of Birbhum district in West Bengal, Employment Seminar at CDS, April 3-5, Source: Mukhopadhyay, Malay (2006). Birbhum Jelar Bhougolik Parichiti, Paschim Banga (in Bengali), pp NREGA Operational Guide Line Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India (2008), 3rd Edition. Bairagya Ramsundar & Sarkar Shubhabrata

6 A Critical Evaluation of MRNEGA Case Study O Malley, L.S.S., Bengal District Gazetteers- Birbhum, 1996 reprint, pp 1-9, Govt. of West Bengal Patel, S. (2006). Empowerment, Co-option and Domination Politics of Maharashtra s Employment Guarantee Scheme, Economic and Political Weekly, December 16, pp Saith, A. (1992). The Rural Non- Farm Economy: Processes and Policies Illustrated ed. Vol. World Employment Program, International Labour Organization. AUTHORS BIOGRAPHY Dr. Ramsundar Bairagya is an Asst. Prof. in Economics, SambhuNath College, Labpur, India. He obtained his MA from Visva-Bharati, M.Phil and PhD from Burdwan University. Shubha Brata Sarkar is an Asst. Prof. of Commerce, Sundarban Mahavidyalaya, Kakdwip India. He obtained his MCom from North Bengal. Both of them have published several research articles in reputed journals in India and abroad. Shenbagaraj, P. and Arockiasamy, S. (2013). Impacts of MGNREGA ON Local Development: A Study of Ottapidaram Blocks in Thoothukudi District, Tamil Nadu, International Journal of Development Research, Vol. 3, Issue, 04, pp.07-11, April, 2013 Source: Subbarao, K. (1997). Public Works as an anti Poverty Programme: An Overview of Cross-Country Experience, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 79, No. 2, PP

7 Manag. Adm. Sci. Rev. ISSN: Volume: 2, Issue: 2, Pages: Table-1: NREGA Statistics of Birbhum districts (in lakhs) Employment provided to households 4.51 Total person days SCs STs Women Others Total work taken up Works completed Works in progress 9064 Source: Govt. of India, MoRD, 16 th June, 2013 Table-2: Age wise registered persons (RP) and employed persons (EP) in the State of West Bengal and Birbhum District under this Scheme in financial year Greater than 60 RP EP RP EP RP EP RP EP RP EP Birbhum West Bengal E Source: Govt. of India, MoRD, 16 th June, 2013 Bairagya Ramsundar & Sarkar Shubhabrata

8 A Critical Evaluation of MRNEGA Case Study 178

9 Manag. Adm. Sci. Rev. ISSN: Volume: 2, Issue: 2, Pages: Figure-1 Employment provided to households SCs Women 1% Total person days STs Others 12% 21% 44% 4% 18% Figure RP EP RP EP RP EP RP EP RP EP Greater than 60 Birbhum West Bengal Bairagya Ramsundar & Sarkar Shubhabrata

10 BOLPUR- DUBRAJPUR ILLAMBAZAR KHOYRASOL LABPUR MAYURESWAR-1 MAYURESWAR-2 MD. BAZAR MURARI-1 MURARI-2 NALHATI-1 NALHATI-2 NANOOR RAJNAGAR RAMPURHAT-1 RAMPURHAT-2 SAINTHIA SURI-1 SURI-2 A Critical Evaluation of MRNEGA Case Study Figure MALE FEMALE The figure-3 indicates that there is a large participation among the woman to total population. 180