How safe are NREGS wage payments through banks and post offices?

This article came in "Infochange"-a web journal carrying article on developmnet issue in February 2009

http://infochangeindia.org/200902057602/Poverty/Features/How-safe-are-NREGS-wage-payments-through-banks-and-post-offices.html

How safe are NREGS wage payments through banks and post offices?
By Pradeep Baisakh

When the government decreed that all payments to beneficiaries under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act would be made through banks and post offices it thought it had plugged the leaks in the system. But bank accounts too can be manipulated, as a social audit carried out in Karon block in Jharkhand state showed

The success of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) depends on its beneficiaries getting the wages due to them, and doing so on time. Provisions for maintenance of muster rolls and job cards, payment of wages in front of all the labourers, providing access to all government records, and social audits are aimed at achieving exactly this.

However, as this gigantic employment guarantee scheme unfolded across the country, it was observed that muster rolls and job cards were being grossly manipulated by the implementers of the scheme to siphon off a large proportion of money from the wage component. (Money from the material component is also diverted.) To end this loot of public money, it was decided to pay the wages through banks and post offices rather than direct payment of cash to the workers.

What was overlooked was the fact that bank records could also be manipulated; if muster rolls and job cards -- both government records -- can be manipulated, so too can bank and post office passbooks. A recent social audit in Karon block, Deoghar district in Jharkhand showed just how vulnerable the system is.

The social audit was conducted in five gram panchayats of Karon block in mid-October 2008 by the Mazdoor Kisan Samiti (MKS), a local organisation, together with researchers from the G B Pant Social Science Institute, Allahabad. In a startling revelation, and to everyone’s horror, it was found that signatures on withdrawal slips were forged to access money in the beneficiaries’ accounts in banks and post offices alike, without the beneficiaries’ knowledge.

In Ranidihi gram panchayat of Karon block, a well for irrigation purposes was sanctioned on the land of Koka Baori under NREGS. The audit revealed that the muster rolls were forged, and money was withdrawn from the bank accounts of the people who worked on the project, without the latter’s knowledge, by Naval Singh, the contractor, and Gopal Choudhury, chairperson of the Central Cooperative Bank in connivance with Umesh Singh, the panchayat sevak and N K Das, the manager of the bank.

Naval Singh, the main culprit, got the well sanctioned by the panchayat. It was to be dug on the land of Koka Baori, a poor dalit. Singh recruited labourers from outside the village, and the family members of Koka Baori also got some minimum amount of work. The muster roll, however, recorded only the names of Koka’s family members and his neighbours. Bank accounts in the names of these people were opened in the Central Cooperative Bank. The money was withdrawn from these accounts by forging the signatures of the account holders.

Based on these findings, the deputy commissioner, Mastram Meena, immediately ordered that a police complaint be filed against the aforesaid four accused in the scam. During a public hearing, the block development officer, Rajesh Singh, admitted that he was lax in carrying out his responsibilities and ensuring adequate monitoring, thus allowing the scam to occur. He agreed to deposit Rs1,000 as penalty for neglect of duty under Section 25 of NREGA. This is probably the first case where Section 25 of the law was invoked to impose penalty on an authority who failed to implement the provisions of the law.

Many means of manipulation
Anish Vanaik, a surveyor, says there are broadly three ways in which payment through banks and post offices ca be manipulated. One, signatures are forged and money withdrawn as was done by Naval Singh. Two, the signatures of the account holders are true, but they are taken under false pretences. This may be done at the time of opening the account (or later) when the innocent labourer is asked to put his signature on a form and later the form is misused to withdraw money. Third, the people are taken to the bank or post offices with the contractor/middlemen and they themselves withdraw the money, but then are made to hand over some of it to the contractor. They do this because the contractor gives them the information that the money has been credited to their account, which otherwise they would not know.

This shows how dependent the labourers are on the contractors. In one such case in Tekra gram panchayat, Lacchmi Mahato worked on an NREGS project to dig a well on Indu Mandal’s land. Though the full official wage of Rs 86.40 per day was credited to Lacchmi’s account, he paid part of it to Indu who decreed that the daily wage was Rs 70 per day.

The culture of ‘percentage cuts’
Another scam discovered in the course of social audits is the ‘percentage cut’ where various government officials and elected representatives share a percentage of the labourer’s wage.
Taufique Zarra of Mahuatand gram panchayat in Karon is a victim of this practice. “He got his well sanctioned under NREGS but not without a price. He gave Rs 2,500 to the panchayat sevak initially, and a further 13% in cash to the panchayat sevak and 10% to the overseer on each cheque released,” says Sunil, a surveyor. Zarra had to sell his bullock and take a loan at a high interest rate from the market to bribe the officials.

Abbas Mian also got a well dug on his land. He admits that he manipulated the names in the muster roll and filled it with the names of his relatives, and not the actual labourers, so that he could withdraw money from the bank. Kasim, cousin of Abbas Mian explains why this practice is resorted to.

“We have to pay the labourers on time otherwise they will not come to work. But the credit to the bank under NREGS gets in too late. We therefore pay the wages from our own pocket. We keep our relatives’ name in the muster roll so that it will be easier for us to withdraw the money from the bank.”

The politician-contractor-bureaucrat nexus makes the whole percentage system fairly unchallengeable. People like the contractor Naval Singh, who is also leader of the ruling party, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, are difficult to punish because of the political protection they enjoy. This ‘PC’ culture, as it has come to be known, is the root cause of all the forgery -- earlier with muster rolls and now in bank payments. This has not only eaten into the wages of the poor labourers but is also corrupting people like Taufique Zarra and Abbas Mian on whose land the wells are sanctioned, and who have to forge muster rolls and manipulate the banking system out of compulsion.

The bank payment system has also brought uncertainty for the labourers as they don’t know when the wages are credited into their accounts. Sandhya, a surveyor, says, “The bank payment system has not gone down well with people because it functions in a lackadaisical manner. People have to go to the bank two and three times to enquire if their wages have been credited.”

This uncertainty has led to the increasing role of middlemen who have access to such information, and makes the innocent labourers quite vulnerable as they think the middleman is doing them a favour by telling them when they can withdraw their money.

The system has also led to delays in the payment of wages. One reason for this is that often it involves inter-institutional transactions (for example, from a bank where the gram panchayat has an account to the banks/post offices where the labourers have accounts). “Since the banking system has not been put in place properly, it has worsened the delay in payment of wages to the workers,” says Pankaj Kumar of MKS.

The system is good when it works
Making NREGS payments through banks and post offices is a good idea for several reasons. For one, it separates the implementing agency from the payment agency. So, as against direct payment of cash to the labourers by the panchayat/block authorities (or even contractors), who could keep a share of the money for themselves, in the banking system the money goes directly into the account of the labourers. This would also discourage corrupt authorities from fudging the muster rolls. Moreover, the payment through banks and post offices would promote the habit of saving among rural unskilled workers.

In Andhra Pradesh, the bank and post office payment system has worked quite well. At the time the block office sanctions payment to the bank based on the muster roll, a computerised pay slip is generated which is distributed in public to the beneficiaries in the villages. At the time of distribution, the muster roll details are also read out. The system works well because there is political will to ensure that it does, which is missing in a state like Jharkhand.

In Karon, the system is dysfunctional. Ever since the bank system has been implemented the signature column has disappeared from the muster rolls. “This is a fundamental problem as the labourers have no clue about their workdays and wages. The signature column in the muster roll should immediately be restored,” says Prof Jean Drèze, who led the survey team in the Karon audit.

Deputy Commissioner Mastram Meena cites a staff shortage as the major reason for the shortcomings in the implementation of NREGA. “From now on there will be one officer (gram rozgar sevak or panchayat secretary) present during the payment to the labourers from the banks or post offices,” Meena said.

While the introduction of payment through banks and post offices could check the prevailing corruption, it is not a foolproof mechanism. Jean Dreze and auditor Reetika Khera say that the transition from the conventional payment system to bank payment requires great caution including strict monitoring of banks and post offices, and must be combined with strict enforcement of all the transparency norms.

Ultimately, though, the essential ingredient for checking corruption and increasing transparency is the people’s awareness and assertiveness, which cannot be supplanted by any system however well thought out it may be.

(Pradeep Baisakh is a freelance journalist based in Orissa)
InfoChange News and Features, February 2009

NREGS challenges the Institutional Extortion System

This piece came in "South Asia Politics"-an international journal in September 2008 issue

I have co-authored this article with Rajkishor Mishra, Orissa State Adivsor to Supreme Court Commission on Right to Food

NREGA challenges Institutional Extortion System

Rajkishor Mishra and Pradeep Baisakh

“Killing was engineered by vested interests that were apprehensive of Lalit’s exposing their corrupt practices” reads the condolence message sent by Sonia Gandhi on Lalit’s murder.

“A Sarpanch (President of Gram Pnchayat) spends about five to seven lakhs in the Panchayat election, a MLA spends 40 lakhs to 2 crore rupees in the assembly election. Similarly a Panchayat Samiti Chairperson and Zilla Parisad President spend about 10 to 22 lakhs to purchase the members of Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parisad for winning the position. Where does this huge amount of funds come from? How these funds are replenished after winning the election?” asks a Panchayat expert from Orissa.

Lalit Kumar Mehta, an activist who was working on right to food and right to work issues in Palamau District of Jharkhand was brutally killed on 14 May 2008 while he was on his way from Daltonganj to Chhattarpur by a motorcycle. At the time of the incident, Lalit was helping a team of student volunteers from GB Pant Social Science Institute, Allhabad and elsewhere to conduct a social audit of NREGA works in Chainpur and Chhattarpur Blocks of Palamau District. Before liquidating him, attempts had already been made by the vested interested groups to dissuade the aforesaid team from conducting this investigation, particularly in Chainpur Block.

In similar such incidences Narayan Hareka, a Naib-Sarpanch in Borigi Gram Panchayat, Narayanpatna Block of Koraput district was killed recently while he was returning to his in-law's house from the block head quarter where he had gone to bring some information on NERGS. Kameshwar Yadav, a CPI Liberation NREGA activist was killed in Giridih District, Jharkhand for similar reasons very recently.


The recent days have witnessed infliction of violence against the activists and people by the groups which gets illegal gratification form the implementation of NREGS during when inspection of the work under NREGS is done by the former. This has been wide spread in various places for the country including Jhalawar of Rajasthan (in February 2008) where activists were attacked by the goons of the vested interest groups, in Malkangiri district of Orissa in March 2008 where Jacob Naka and his mother were thrashed by vested interest as they dared to testify in a public meeting , in Mayurbhanj district and Sundergarh districts of Orissa etc (in April-May 2008) where people giving testimony in the public meetings of NREGA social audit were attacked by the contractors’ lobby and in various other places including in Jharkhand. It has been so as the social audits brings fore the public money siphoned off by them. True, no body would like to be caught as a thief which becomes real in the public meetings conducted at the end of the inspection and cross verification of documents. But nobody would expect that the backlash would go to the extent of taking somebody’s life! Alas, this barbarism has now become true with the murder of Lalit and Narayan and Kamlesh, all of whom had tried to expose corruption in NREGS works by using the transparency mechanism existing in the law.

Instances of percentage cuts:
Prof Jean Dreze, the famous welfare economist and architect of NREGA legislation write in his article “Corruption in NREGA: myths and reality” came in ‘The Hindu’ on 22nd January 2008 writes “ In Jharkhand, detailed muster roll verification of NREGA works in five randomly selected Gram Panchayats of Ranchi district suggested leakages of about 33 percent.” It writes “In Bolangir and Kalahandi districts the infamous “PC system” (where various functionaries demand fixed percentage of scheme funds) continued and seem to absorb around 22 percentage of funds” . The percentage distribution among various players is found out in break ups as following in Orissa: the BDO takes two per cent, junior engineer five per cent, assistant engineer three per cent, other block staff one per cent, PEO five per cent, GP secretary three per cent, miscellaneous three per cent. The total works out to be 22 per cent. Over and above this the contractor has his/her share in terms of percentage and/or some share from the material cost. The total cut therefore comes to the level from 30 to 36 percentages.

Confidential sources suggest existence of similar percentage system in the surveyed blocks namely, Chainpur and Chhattarpur of Palamau district which is between 30 to 36 percent. Sources also reveal that contractors from Bihar having link with politicians both in Bihar and Jharkhand are functioning in the government works in Palamu district indirectly.

The cuts culture is well entrenched in the system wherein the funding to the elections are managed partially form the cut. Therefore any attempt by anybody to challenge the system where these powerful people are the stake holders, the backlash is most likely.

“The huge inflow of money under NREGS in a district has also raised the quantum of percentage cuts to a handsome level. Out of 75 crore rupees spent on NREGS last year, if we accept that about 20 percent is accounted toward percentage cuts then it comes out to be 15 crores which is not a small amount. On the other hand in one single work the percentage may yield to a small 50,000 to 60,000. This may not prompt a murder. Therefore the murder could not have taken place because it has affected the interested of one single individual, or a small group of persons. A sum of 50,000 rupees may not prompt a murder, but 15 crores can”: opines, a engineer friend of Lalit. He adds “Lalit was not only going to block office to get to get records and other facts under NREGA, he was also visiting DRDA office for similar purpose.”

Lalit has been a threat to all those who were making illegal money from the NREGA funds. Due to his engineering background he was able to make proper measurement of the earth work done and to decipher the “measurement book” in each work. “He was teaching people / beneficiaries on how to measure their work under piece-rate wage system and how much wages they should get according to their work done. By this, the corruption in measurement of work may straight way be caught. This would not go well with the engineers and other functionaries. And this is the reward he got for his work for people” laments Gopi, a leading NREGA activist of Jhrakhand and a colleague of Lalit.


It is an open secret that there exists institutional extortion system that take percentage cuts form all the welfare schemes implemented at various levels of governance and this has intricate relationship with the funding of elections right from the levels of elections to Panchayats, Assembly and above. The contractor system though patronage of political parties is one such phenomenon which constitutes the institutionalised extortion system. The contractors serve as the primary funder to the contestants during elections. Or on the other way around, the party cadres who campaign for the party/candidate during elections are rewarded by giving tenders and contracts by the political leaders with the help of officials after the election if the party/candidate comes to power. Jogendra Behera, an MLA from Titlagarh in Bolangir district in Orissa, wrote letter with his seal and signature to the BDO of his area to grant NREGA works in favour of his pet contractors. This may serve a case in point in support of the presence of patronage contractor system. The bureaucracy plays a vital role in this entrenched system of organised loot.

But why so much fuss about the system ‘now’ which has been existing since time of independence? The answer is simple. Though many know it exists, but nobody has the clue as what is the extent, what is the percentage share, how to expose the embezzlement with corroborative facts and figures. NREGA is probably first such well drafted legislation that provide ample scope for exposing and plugging in the areas of corruption. Jean Dreze says “NREGS aims at dismantling the prevailing organised loot of the public money and bring about a transparent system which is accountable to the people.”

NREGA hits at the root of percentage system:

NREGA hits at the root of the political patronage of contracting out the government work to the pet men by banning the contractors system in all NREGA works. Various transparency and accountability measures have been clearly enumerated in the act e.g. planning at the Gram Sabha, selection of mate by the villagers, constitution of vigilance and monitoring committee, proper maintenance of the muster rolls at worksite, device of Job Card as a document near the worker to keep track of his work and payment, payment in open before all the workers or by bank and post office pass books, suo moto disclosure of all the records of the work, furnishing the information/records relating to NREGA to all citizens in seven days of application, compulsory social audit of the works by Gram Sabha so on and so forth.

It is these mechanism accompanied by the action by vigilant civil society groups and academicians who have been using the provisions on a continuous basis to bring out the cases of embezzlement in NREGA works in various parts of the country has ruffled the feathers of the corrupt system in which only a handful people corner the gain. As the audits of NREGA works have brought out the levels of corruption and fixes responsibility on the authorities, the vested interested groups have been panicky in responding to the activism of citizens determined for a more transparent and accountable system backed by a strong legislation.

Brief findings of Palamu survey:

A brief look at the preliminary findings of the surveyors in Palamu district would be useful in understanding the size of the hole and why the backlash is inevitable. The survey was conducted in 10 randomly-selected Gram Panchayats of Chainpur and Chhattarpur Blocks of Palamau District, in May 2008 by the G.B. Pant Social Science Institute, Allahabad.

1. 44% of workers (out of 100 workers surveyed) reported that contractors were involved at the worksite. This means ban on private contractors is routinely violated
2. In Chainipur block, a muster roll in a work done by forest department in Khendra Khurd panchayat there were 108 names on it, whereas only a few labourers (around 8) have actually worked. So almost all the signatures are fudged and the muster roll is a fake one.
3. In a case in Chiru panchayat in a muster roll 36 names were found but not a single person from them have actually worked!
4. Suresh Bhuyan, the mate of a work done in Shahpur GP testified in the Public Hearing on 26th May 2008 that he had to bribe the Gram Sevak for releasing the money.

These are few instances of manipulation done to cover up the corruption in NREGA works in the district. This may show why those who would be exposed by the survey would have tried hard to prevent the attempt by the surveyors and Lalit.

District administration’s desperation to cover up fault:
The letter written in by the District Collector NP Singh and The Superintendent of Police Deepak Verma of Palamu district to the Rural Development minister at centre Raghuvansh Prasad would show their anxiety and desperation to de-establishing the link between NREGS fraud and Lalit’s murder. They wrote that there is no link between the irregularities in execution of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and killing of Lalit Mehta. They have raised various other possible reasons for the murder: road rubbery, inter religion/caste marriage of Lalit that was not accepted (as the report claims) by both the families, and the involvement of Vikas Sahyog Kendra (VSK), of which Mehta was the secretary, in dealing in cash meant for execution of various developmental schemes. “It used to be a gathering point for many contractors also. It is quite obvious that some kind of dispute over share of money might have led to killing of Mehta” the letter mentions. The letter even stoops to the level of accusing Prof Jean Dreze and others of attempting to malign the state government and falsifying statements.

A group of activists led by Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey write in an appeal letter meant for the citizens of the nation to sign “…Instead of presenting a serious analysis of the circumstances of the murder, the report (prepared by DC and SP) makes absurd insinuations, such as Jean Drèze's possible involvement in the murder, or the allegation that he and his team manufactured evidence of fraud in NREGA works… The report reinforces earlier suspicions that there is an entrenched and deep rooted nexus of corruption and violence surrounding NREGA in Palamau, with powerful connections. Otherwise, why would the district's senior most officers go to such length to undermine a forthright examination of the use of NREGA funds in this area?”

Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey wrote in Indian Express online edition on 14th June “The police, with unseemly haste, buried the unidentified body (of Lalit), carrying it back 25 kilometres to the scene of the crime, after a hurriedly conducted post-mortem… the social audit conducted after 12 days of the murder established that a large proportion of the Rs 73 crore spent in the district had been siphoned off by contractors, officials and the well-entrenched development mafia.”

The Chief Minister of Kharkhand Madhu Koda, while ordering CBI inquiry on 19th June 08 to the matter (though after much reluctance) said “Though the CID probe, which I had earlier ordered, was following the case very closely, I chose to go for the CBI enquiry as a section of people had started suspecting the role of state police”

NREGA will deepen democracy at grass root:

The incidents of violence are likely to increase as more and more surveys and social audits are to be conducted through out the nation as part of the mandate of the act, and as because NREGA has provided both platform and opportunity for the concerned citizens to break the vicious cycle of hitherto unchallengeable loot. The intensity of backlash would be more in the poorer states like Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar, Chhatisgarh as the index of corruption is high in these states due to low level of awareness of the people on one hand and the established strong nexus among the contractor, implementing officials and politicians on the other which take the lions share from all welfare schemes. They are likely to take all possible tricks to safe guard their fort of corruption and exploitation.

Various groups and individuals perceive the provisions of NREGA in their own mirror. The corporate world sees it as drainage of public money as the real benefit of NREGA does not percolate to the target people as the findings of social audit suggest. This group is in fact knowingly ignored the fact that it is the social audit mandated under NRGEA which has brought out the level of corruption that has been existing in implementation of previous welfare schemes which are unknown till date. In fact a different politics work in corporate world that has shaped its image of antipathy toward NREGA. It is only natural that more public money diverted toward welfarism, less is available for investment in industrial sector. On the other hand Mihir Shah, the co-founder of National Consortium of CSOs supporting Gram Panchayats in planning implementing and social audit on NREGA, writes in his article “ The real radicalism of NREGA” in The Hindu on 22nd May 2008 “ the brutal murder of Lalit Mehta exposes the violent opposition by the vested interest deeply threatened by the radical provisions of NREGA” While some of the provisions are admittedly radical, the real fact is that NREGA has unlimited potential to bring social transformation in rural areas and has real prospect of deepening democracy by uniting people to ask questions and seek accountability from the public servants. It has the capability to challenge the status quo and usher a new era of transparent governance at the grass root level.

During the process the presence of the contractor-politician-official nexus will have to disappear gradually. Though this transformation may not be so peaceful and gradual as recent killing and many instances of violence on the people and activists suggest. In fact the series of NREGA related murders in different parts of the country only strengthens the belief that the root of this extortion system is deeper than seems on its face. Mihir Shah writes in the same column “Lalit’s work revealed high levels of corruption involving people in high places”

The social audits at various places of the country have witnessed the real democracy in operation. In the public meetings where the findings of the social audit were presented in the presence of the villagers and the officials, the fearless testimony of the rural poor and his/her assertion in taking the hissab from the Panchayat and block level authorities would be noteworthy observations. For example, in Silhadon panchayat of Ranchi district, where social audit was conducted as part of the exercise undertaken by National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD) in the whole Ranchi district in May 2007, it was found that the names of 10 women had been struck off the muster rolls when they demanded payment against providing drinking water to the workers. At the public hearing the panchayat Sewak simply folded his hands and apologized, and agreed to pay the women for the work done within 3 days. Similarly in Kuchhu Panchayat under Angadha block, in one case, where people had worked for three days but were not paid as that project was scrapped afterwards, the BDO ordered the payment to be made immediately during the public meeting. Similarly in Orissa in a series of social audits conducted by NIRD in association of CSOs and villagers during January to May 2008 it was observed that the the platform of SA has also been used to redressing other grievances of people. For example, in Similipadar GP under Kantamal block of Boudh district just after the public hearing on NREGA the people complained of prolonged irregularity in supply of ration under PDS to the BDO and the Asst Project Director, DRDA. The people gheraoed the officials and relented only after assurance of smooth ration distribution. These instances substantiate the claim that NREGA has the potential to reinstate faith of common people on democracy. In the social audit process they are participating not only in the decision making but also in the implementation. These occasions provided the platforms, for the first time for people, where officials are forced to answer to their questions on various aspects of policy and implementation of NREGA. What has been exhibited is the public accountability in its real sense. Social audits provide voice to the hitherto voiceless.

Governments’ waning commitment toward NREGA:

The biggest cause of concern is the signs of waning support from different governments from NREGA. The recent move by the central government to increase the minimum hours of work from seven hours a day to nine hours and then reducing it to eight hours after protest is one such example.

In Jhalawar district (the home district of Ms. Vasundhara Raje, the Chief Minister) of Rajasthan the attempt by Abhiyan, a campaign of labourers, small farmers, activists, researchers, students and people from all walks of life committed to transparency, to conduct social audits during January-February 2008 was met with violent attack on the volunteers by the locals led and fed by the Sarpanch union and other vested interest groups. Such planned violence has happened despite the fact that Ms Aruna Roy had personally handed over a letter to the Chief Minister Ms. Vasundhara Raje on January 25th informing her of the social audit and asking for her support. The activists were of the view that the state government, which had made commitments to the employment guarantee scheme and its transparent implementation, working in co-operation with the Abhiyan ever since its much-successful social audit in Dungarpur in 2005, distanced itself from the social audit by Abhiyan from Banswara (in Decemabre 2007) and Jhalawar (February 2008) coming under the pressure from its cadres at the local level.

Conclusion:

Organisation of the workers is a must to contain this back lash from the powerful groups. The act itself provides the space for the same. It discusses about labour union for uniting people on the issue of right to work under NREGA and surprisingly there is space for this in the Act itself. The activists who are committed toward successful operationalisation of NREGA should depend on people’s power to deal with the possible onslaught of the powerful vested interest. Also this would help break the nexus of corruption and exploitation (politician-contractors and officials). The recent order of the Chief Minister Madhu Koda for a CBI inquiry into Lalit’s murder will prove to be a turning point in the fight to save NREGA .

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Rajkishor Mishra is State (Orissa) Advisor to the Supreme Court Commission on Right to Food
Pradeep Baisakh is a Freelance Writer based in Orissa

Social audit scenario in Orissa

This article came in "Yojana" monthly journal published by Publication Division, GOI, in August 2008 issue

Social Audit scenario in Orissa
Pradeep Baisakh

Social audit of government works is a unique tool of establishing government’s direct accountability to the people. In National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) (section 17 sub section 1,2,3) itself it has been made an integral and important part with the purpose to enforce the constitutional and democratic right of the citizen to take the “hisaab” of the public money.

After the NREGS came into effect from 2nd February 2006 social audits and surveys have been undertaken by various groups in different paces of Orissa at different points of time. A rough list is given below:
List of places of Social Audit/survey undertaken
Name of the place Period
Makarsola village of Kendupati GP, Kalahandi district June 07
Sanpokhri village of Bisra block, Sundergarh district March 07
Belaput GP of Nandpore block, Koraput district May 07
Makar Sola village, kendupati gp, junagarh of Kalahandi May 07
Pujariguda gp Tentulikhuni Navrangpur May 07
Ukhla Gp under Jaipur block, Sonepur district August 07
Khari and Situla GP, Sonepur dist December 07
Paikphulbeda GP under Dasmantpur block, Koraput district November 07
11 social audits in Koraput, Kalahandi, sonepur, Boud, Bolangir and Nuapada districts
21st January to 4th February‘08

A series of Social Audit (SA) is being undertaken in 19 districts of the state by NIRD, Hyderabad with the request of the State government. NIRD in turn has sought cooperation of the local NGOs and volunteers. In the first phase SA was done from 21st January to 4th February 2008 in 11 GPs in six districts namely Bolangir, Koraput, Boud , Sonepur, Nuapada and Kalahandi.

Brief finding of the social audit (21st January to 31st January 2008) done in one work in Koraput district is given below:
Information as per official records:
Name of the work: Road construction work from Lakhiguda to sindhiguda
Place: Panasguda GP under Borigumma block of Koraput district
Financial year: 2006-07 (work done between 16 December 06 to 23 March 07)
Sanctioned amount: 5 lakhs
Total number of labourers worked in the work as in the Muster Roll (MR): 136
Total number of person days created as per the official record: 2837
Expenditure toward labour payment: 4,13,115
Expenditure toward material cost: 7,000
Royalty to the state government: 77,966

During the survey the team however met about 10 such people who have worked under the work but names were not mentioned in the MR.
Summary findings:
1. 75% of wages shown in the MR is not paid to the labourers
2. The length of the road is shown to be 1280 metres, but a real measurement was found to be 700 metres
3. 7000 rupees were paid toward the T&P (tools) but in reality it is not paid
4. No worksite facilities like drinking water, rest shed , first aid kit etc were available

A survey on NREGA works was conducted by Prof Jean Dreze and colleagues from the G B Pant Institute at 30 worksites in GPs of six blocks randomly selected from three districts of Kalahandi, Bolangir and Boudh in October 2007. This survey provides a broader picture. The interim report of the survey observes, “The verification of 30 sample worksites shows that only 60 per cent of the days of employment recorded in the MRs were confirmed by the respective labourers. The corresponding discrepancies in the wage payments may even be larger. However, this is hard to ascertain as the verification of wage payments poses considerable difficulties…”

Areas of concern
During the social audits and surveys conducted some of the following areas of concerns have come up which are briefly discussed as follows:

1. Inaccessibility to records: Though the act clearly dictates for easy availability of the MR and other documents to the citizen, reality speaks differently. In the recently concluded survey and SA by NIRD (21st January to 4th February 08), the district administration of Nuapada district and the BDO of Sinapali of the district virtually denied parting with the record of the works. Similar non cooperation was reported in Belpada block of Bolangir district.
2. The labourer is not able to verify his/her payments from the job card due to absence of wage column specifying the wages paid. The state government, however, has decide that there will be a column for “wage payment” in the new Job Cards and the remarks column in the existing card will be made use for the purpose.
3. Two types of muster rolls namely kachha (unofficial) Pacca (official) kept by the contractors/mate in order to accommodate necessary manipulations to cover up corruption.
4. The infamous ‘cuts’ culture in the government works is also seen in NREGA works. In the block works the total percentage of direct pilferage may work out to be nearly 20-22%. The BDO, JE, Auditor, Clerks, AE,data entry operator, PEO, Panchayat Secretary, contractor etc have their share. The ‘cuts’ has links with the funding of elections in the panchayat and the assembly.

However, JEs and VLWs privately agree that under NREGA managing percentage cuts have a considerable risk, and eventually it has to go down, particularly after the payment through banks and post offices becomes fully operational, which has just started in the state now.

5. Contractors are to be seen in all NREGA works, some are visible and some are not.
Saswat Mishra, additional secretary, department of panchayati raj, however says “We have instructed the JE and VLWs, in whose names work orders are issued, to entrust the work to the VLLs selected by Palli Sabha, not to the contractors.”
6. Social activist opposing the involvement of contactors and conducting social audits have been beaten in many cases. For example, after the social audit in Semala and Ekamba GPs of Navarangpur district in November 07, a social activist was badly beaten by none other than the PEO and the Sarpach and was hospitalised.

7. The hierarchy of grievance redressal system has unfortunately not been put in place in the state.

8. The Management of Information System (MIS) has been too rigid leading to “adjustments” in the written records.
9. Staff shortage at block and panchayat levels, low travelling allowance to the panchayat workers, JEs etc have bearing on the implementation of the NREGS works.

Apart from these systemic issues, regular complaints like denying work to old people and widows, manipulating MRs, providing fewer wages to the women than men, non availability of worksite facilities including crèches etc were also reported.

Impact of Social Audit
SA is probably the best form of generation of awareness and mobilisation of people. The impact of SA process has been both immediate and long term. During the recent SA in Pandasguda GP of Borigumma block of Koraput district, the authorities distributed about 300 Job Cards within seven days to the villagers which were not given for last two years. In Nilabadi GP under Bandhugaon block work was immediately sanctioned by the authorities to about fifty people after the survey team arrived to conduct SA. Making pending payments were also reported during the audit process that was undertaken by NIRD recently.

The platform of SA has also been used to redressing other grievances of people. For example, in Similipadar GP under Kantamal block of Boudh district just after the public hearing (in last week of January’08), the people complained of prolonged irregularity in supply of ration under PDS to the BDO and the Asst Project Director, DRDA. The people gheraoed the officials and relented only after assurance of smooth ration distribution.

However, the long term impact of SA in terms of increased awareness of people accompanied by assertion of their entitlements under the act and the response of the authorities toward better implementation of the scheme is encouraging. In Paikphulbeda GP of Koraput district, where SA was done in the month of November’07, a group of 52 women, who were not piad their two days wages of the work done in 2006-07, were paid within fifteen days of the audit. “In Bilaput GP of Nandpore block of Koraput district, where SA was done in May’07, the people who were getting wages of rupees 30 to 35 are now getting the minimum wage of seventy rupees per day. People have now started demanding work and are vigilant about wages, worksite facilities etc” says Bidyut Mohanty of SPREAD (a NGO) that facilitated the audit there. Recounting the gains of audit done in Sanpokhar village of Birsa GP in Sundergarh district, Binay Sahu, a local activist says “so many irregularities were found during when social audit was done. But now, providing work in time, making payment within fifteen days etc are done. In some cases even people have got 135 days of work in a single financial year. The decentralised planning at Palii/Gram Sabha has also got a fillip. Now the Panchayat Executive Officer (PEO) is keeping old women as ‘aya’ in the worksite to take care of babies of working women and paying them the minimum wages”

“These improvements give the hope that NREGS can be implemented in letter and spirit in due course of time” says, Rajkishor Mishra, the State (Orissa) Advisor to the Right to Food Commission of Supreme Court.

In fact two surveys done in the state, one by CEFS, a New Delhi based NGO in May-June 2007 and other by G B Panth Institute in October 07 brought substantial impact on the state government to streamline issues at policy level. State government took some vital decisions of redesigning job cards, appointing ‘gaon sathis’ to make measurements, constituting the State Employment Guarantee Council (SEGC), directing to VLW/JE not to entertain contractors, requesting NIRD to conduct social audits in 40 GPs etc. These decisions, if properly implemented, will give proper direction to the scheme in the state.

Recommendations for betterment of implementation
Recommendations were made by the visiting members of CEGC in November’07; by the survey team from G B Panth institute and by the the CSOs of the state to the state government which are briefly given below:
1. Regular maintenance of Job Cards should be strictly enforced. Responsibility should be clearly fixed on the Gram Rozgar Sevaks for the task.
2. “Adjustments” in the records should not be allowed in any circumstances. Persons without a Job Card should be provided with a Job Card before they join a worksite.
3. A uniform, single, numbered, well-designed muster roll should be used throughout the state. Accountability should be fixed for ensuring that live muster rolls are kept at the worksite, and completed muster rolls are available for public scrutiny at the Panchayat Bhawan.
4. Additional staff should be appointed as per NREGA Guidelines both at GP and block levels. A Gram Rozgar Sevak should be posted in each Gram Panchayat and the Programme Officer at the Block level should be “a full-time dedicated officer”, not below the rank of Block Development Officer.
5. Immediate government order should be issued to the block and district level officers mentioning the time limit for grievance redressal under the act.
6. Awareness drives urgently need to be conducted, as most labourers are still unaware of their entitlements under NREGA. A simple, reader-friendly “primer” on NREGA should be made available to each Gram Panchayat.
7. Each Block and District should have a NREGA Helpline (for information as well as for complaints). Helpline numbers should be printed or “sticked” on each Job Card.
8. Planning process at the Palli/Gram Sabha level should be activated with proper awareness drive and facilitation.

Despite many odds NREGA remains the ray of hope of the poor people in rural Orissa. The strength of the legislation has already been exhibited in the state by enforcement of the clause of unemployment allowance in case of 546 job card holders who have got Rs 1,04,355/- in total. The process of social audit has also proved to be an effective tool in the hands of common people to ensure transparency and demand entitlements. It will be wrong to interpret that the level of corruption in NREGA, as the findings suggest, is more than other schemes. The fact of the matter is that in previous welfare schemes the extent was of this level or more, but was not in public knowledge. The transparency mechanisms visualised in the act have been able to bring fore the extent of misappropriation of public funds. The levels are to go down in due course as has been seen in some above discussed cases. For still better implementation, the process of social audits should be done before and during and after the work is undertaken. It should be a continuous process.

E mail: 2006pradeep@gmail.com

Sordid tale of migration continues to haunt the state

This news ietm came in 'the pioneer', Bhubaneswar edition on 28 February 2008

http://www.thesouthasian.org/archives/2008/sordid_tales_of_migration_from.html

Sordid tale of migration continues to haunt the state

Pradeep Baisakh

The sordid tale migrant labourers who leave their villages in order for better jobs continue narrate a grim situation that the State is facing. Kabi Khila is back in his village from Baleri district of Karnataka where he was taken by a labour agent to do manual work. But he is no more a normal person now; he has lost his mental balance.

Colleagues from his village Paikphulbeda under Dasmantpur block of Koraput district, who also had migrated to the same place, say that Kabi was beaten and tortured by his employers, Manu Patra and Benu Patra of SNC agency in Karnataka leading to this situation.

Nearly 13 people from the village were taken to the place and trapped there since June 2007. They were only released after reports were published by The Pioneer in November 2007. "We were made to work for hours at a stretch in the Karnataka Power Corporation, were always abused in filthy languages and were also intermittently beaten up by the Patra brothers, mainly Manu Patra," informed Raghu Gadva, Alu Gadva and Maheswar Syrya of the village who managed to return home.

In Baringpali village of Nandapur bock of Koraput, six adolescent girls and seven lads were taken by the labour agent Prasanna Nayak to Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh in November 2007 to work on a railway track there. Not only were they paid wages less than the promised amount, a girl was slapped by the supervisor in the workplace.

In Khinimunga village of Nandapur block, one Kaliomoni Hontal died of diarrhoea in December, immediately after returning from Visakhapatnam of Andhra Pradesh where she had gone to work. Still, a good number of people were ready to leave for Andhra Pradesh in January, after theNREGS work was stopped in their village.

The matter was brought under the notice of the Collector Balakrushna Sahu who ordered the BDO to resume work so that the villagers did not leave the village for work. When asked about the reason behind leaving for other States, despite being aware of the risk involved, the labourers replied that insufficient or no work within the State forced them to leave their villages.

Despite tall claims of the State Government about its performance in the implementation of the NREGS, it has not been able to bring down the level of distressed migration. In the Barigipali village only one NREGS work of road construction came to the village in March 2007, which fetched barely 11 days of work to some people.Similarly, in the Paikphulbeda not much work was allotted under the scheme that could meet the demand of work in the village.All these labourers said that if they were given 100 days of work in the village at the rate of Rs 70 per day, they would certainly not go out to work.

Official statistics from Nandapur block of the district suggested that there are 25,550 households in the block, for which an amount of Rs 23 crores is required to provide 100 days of work to all thehousehold in a year, but in the last fiscal year only Rs 3.73 rupees was sanctioned and Rs 1.99 crores were utilised. This shows that people have no option but to migrate if this is the state ofimplementation of NREGS.

Women Sarpanch implements record number of projects under NREGS

This article came in "View Point", the sociological e journal in January-June 2008 issue

http://www.geocities.com/husociology1/sarpanch8.htm

(NDTV India telecasted the story following the publication of this piece )

Women Sarpanch implements record number of projects under NREGS

Pradeep Baisakh

Leaders can make difference. This was proved by Ms Martha Badaraita, the lady Sarpanch of Bada Kalapat village and GP under Gumma block of Gajpati district of Orissa. The 39 year women Sarpanch, who is from Saura tribal community, has been quite famous in her area for her pro-people activism.

Before being elected as a Sarpanch this time she has been a Naib Sarpanch (sub Sarpanch who takes responsibility in the absence of Sarpanch) in the last Panchayat. During her current stint as the Sarpanch, apart from many welfare activities which she has undertaken, she has given special importance on the implementation of the flagship scheme NREGS. Her Panchayat has about 670 house holds (HH) as per the Panchayat list; but she has been able to provide 900 Job Cards to the people in her Panchayat. It may be noted here that the number of Job Cards under NREGS can well exceed the total number of HH as Job Cards are to be issues to the nuclear families, where as the calculation of the HH in Panchayats are done as per the existing ones-joint or nuclear. Therefore it is not legally incorrect to provide more Job Cards than the total number of HH in the GP. In the year 2007-08 she has been able to start and implement work of 52 lakhs, one of the high performing Panchayats in the State. Her Panchayat has undertaken various works under the scheme like, road construction, check dam, irrigation canal, and plantation and terracing projects. “Many people have been profusely benefited from the scheme o the extent that some HH even have got 183 days of work.” says Martha. One of the unique works she has done under the scheme is doing terracing in the private land of nearly 100 acre of private land in the GP.

When asked how could she perform so well in the scheme where it is faltering in other areas of the state, she says “ the training provided by IWD, a local NGO, helped me a lot to know about the provisions of the act. This accompanied by the support of people and my past experience make the programme successful in our areas., The authorities, both at the GP, block and district levels have been quite supportive to me all through.” No that many people have already done more than 100 days of work, the MIS (management of Information) system is no more accommodating the excess work days. She has raised this issue near the Collector who has assured her to take the matter in right forum to sort out.

People’s motivation holds the key:

The people’s motivation in doing the NREGS work and getting involved in every stage of implementation of the scheme has helped her a lot in achieving the mega target. She has been effectively mobilised people by discussing the benefits that this legislation would bring to the lives of people along with bringing prosperment to their villages. Even the ward members are discussing this scheme in their respective wards and creating a situation where all the villagers are considering this as an opportunity for creation of infrastructure in their village along with getting at least 100 assured days of wage employment. “Without taking the people, ward members and the officials along it would be difficult for implementation of the scheme like NREGS which involves very strict norms of transparency and accountability” tells Martha. The distressed migration of her GP has substantially com down last year due to availability of work in the GP. Even though the act expects that the system should move with the needed speed so tat people get work and wages in fifteen days; the reality differs. Most of then times after getting the applications, individual or group, we Sarpanches have to push our case near the BDO, then only work order is given and money is sanctioned/released. She also had convinced the BDO to order releasing advance payment for giving the wages to the labourers irrespective of whether measurement is done or not.

Schools’ functioning streamlined:

She has supervising authority over the primary schools. She also has responsibility toward the functioning of other level schools in her areas as a people’s representative. There is an Ashram School in her Panchayat. The teachers were not staying in the school that’s why the study of the children was suffering. She requested the teachers to stay for the sake of children and also as a matter of duty as that is a residential school. But teachers were not to heed her request. So she took the matter to the knowledge of the Collector who immediately ordered the transfer of five teachers. Now all the fifteen teachers are staying in the school. The school has 400 students in total out of which 300 people stay in the hostel and 100 are the day scholars. The classrooms and the hostel rooms were not sufficient to cater to this number of students. She along with some SHG members in the village along with some male members of the village went to meet the Collector with the request to make some more numbers of class rooms. Their legitimate demands have been accepted by the Collector and a new building is being constructed with four rooms in it.

In the primary school in Sana Kalapat village of her GP, some teachers were quite irregular for nearly three months affecting badly the study if the students. The villagers under her leadership complained against it near the School Inspector, who visited the school to ascertain the truth. Finding the allegations to be true he stopped the salary of those teachers for three months. Now, as a result, the teachers are quite regular in attending the classes.

Victory in margin numbers in elections:

This time in the Panchayat election she contested and won the Sarpanch seat with a huge margin of about 1150 votes from her nearest rival, who got only 100 votes. It was a multi faceted contest, where she got 1250 votes and other three rivals got less than a hundred each. The total number of voters is 2213. When asked how she is so popular in her GP, with a smile on her face she answers “I am in people’s politics for last 15 years or so. It’s not been very easy to win the confidence of people. I have worked hard for people with all genuineness. I have stood with the people in their bad time and helped the innocents in their need.”

An activist by background and attitude:

She has a NGO background. During early nineties she was working with a NGO in adult education, education for girl children etc. That provides her the basic knowledge on the welfare scheme. In various ways she has helped people and protested against injustice. Once she had protested and saved some girls being harassed by some miscreants while the girls were going to sell vegetables in the nearest market. Once she had saved a women being cheated by a person who was trying to snatch fraudulently the money she had got from Indira Awas Yojana. During her tenure as a Naib Sarpanch she had mobilised 7.5 lakhs from the villagers to get a water tank sanctioned from the government under Swajaldhara project. For this she had to run to meet the BDO, Collector, MLA etc.

Her husband is a teacher who is quite supportive to her activism in politics. Martha has read till 5th class, but it has never caused very big problem in understanding on how system functions and how to get her work done.

Her dreams:

“I will give stress on health, children’s education; supply of drinking water to the villages which do not have the same” says Martha narrating her vision. The problem however is that she gets only 300 rupees allowance per month and there is no travel allowances given to them. This makes the service to people very difficult and sometimes she has to depend on her husband’s income to meet her public expenses.

In Orissa, NREGA is still a ray of hope

This article came in "India Together" on 2nd February 2008

http://www.indiatogether.org/2008/feb/hrt-nrega.htm

EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE LAW

In Orissa, NREGA is still a ray of hope

Despite many shortcomings in implementation, an array of examples and a government willing to move on public pressure are showing that the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is making progress in Orissa. Pradeep Baisakh reports.

2 February 2008 - Govind Bhoi of Brahmanipali village of Boud district got about Rs.6500 for working along with his family in the pond renovation work under National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in his village during May and June 2007. Getting a lumpsum of money for a short spell of work is new for him. So, instead of frittering it away, he invested in a bullock and seeds for cultivation.

Uma Kahanr, an old woman of Tarabha village of the same gram panchayat (GP), who also worked on the same NREGA work, got Rs. 1850 for working about 20 to 25 days (she cannot recall the exact number). From the earnings, she was able to repay some debts and meet some consumption expenditures. Because of this regular work, she did not need to collect and sell wood everyday - a practice that was her major source of livelihood. Happy with the compensation, she says, "If you get Rs.100 for 100 units of work (read 100 cubic feet), you can fill your stomach. By selling wood you barely manage to survive."

The pond renovation work in Brahmanipali was completed in July 2007. Nearly 84 households have benefited from the tank and the check dam that were constructed as part of the project. "Previously the water would flow unchecked and was of no use for our agricultural land, but now because of the tank and the check dam, the water can be stored and channelised to our lands," says Budhadev Barik of the village. "We can bathe in the pond and during summer when the tube wells either go dry or have muddy water, we can use this tank water for domestic purposes," he adds. Another villager is optimistic that with the renovated pond, the ground water level will rise, preventing the tube wells from drying up in the coming summer.

This example shows how NREGA work has started contributing toward the betterment of people's lives and creating durable and useful infrastructure in villages. However such examples are few.

A survey on NREGA works was conducted at 30 worksites in GPs of six blocks randomly selected from three districts of Kalahandi, Bolangir and Boudh of Orissa by the G B Pant Social Science Institute of Allahabad University in October 2007. The students from Delhi University and local volunteers conducted the survey under the active guidance of renowned welfare economist and one of the chief architects of NREGA legislation Jean Dreze, economist and right to food activist Reetika Khera, and state advisor to Right to Food Commission of Supreme Court, Rajkishore Mishra.

The basis of the survey was cross-verifying the muster rolls (MRs) and Job Cards (JCs) with the versions of the people. The survey team also interacted with various stakeholders to ascertain the position of the flagship scheme and the difficulties on the ground level.

The health of NREGA in the state is discussed in this article that is based on the findings of the survey and on other sources like discussions in OREGS Watch Group - an e-group on NREGA issues in Orissa.

Vulnerability to corruption
The interim report of the aforesaid survey observes, "The verification of 30 sample worksites shows that only 60 per cent of the days of employment recorded in the MRs were confirmed by the respective labourers. The corresponding discrepancies in the wage payments may even be larger. However, this is hard to ascertain as the verification of wage payments poses considerable difficulties" ( See report: http://www.righttofoodindia.org/data/gbpant07orissa-social-audit-interim-report.pdf )

Job cards: not very useful
The JC has been conceived to be a primary document in safeguarding transparency under the act. However, its faulty design has rendered it of little use to its users. The main design lacuna is the absence of the column specifying the wages paid. In such a case, the payment of the worker cannot be ascertained. Moreover, the worker does not fill the JC him/herself; it is filled by the PEO or Village Level Leader (VLL) in presence of the worker. Also, the labourer's name and the name of the work are entered in a code format, mostly in English, so virtually no labourer can read it. During the survey, no worker was able to decipher the card.

Breakdown of transparency mechanism
The entire mechanism to ensure transparency in NREGA works seems to have broken down in the state. Two types of MRs are maintained by the VLL (who is the mate/contractor) - kaccha (unofficial) and pucca (official). The kaccha MR has the authentic figures, the pucca one is clandestinely manipulated, despite the rule being that the official MR must be maintained at all worksites, in front of the labourers. The collector of Boudh district Shalini Pandit says the mates consider the pucca MR sacrosanct, which is why they first make entries in the unofficial one and then enter the figures ("make them fair") in the official MR.

Rajkishore Mishra, social activist, disagrees. "Two rolls are maintained to allow manipulation of wage payments. The JCs are also often found with the sarpanch or the Village Level Worker (VLW, who is the Panchayat Executive Officer) and not the workers, providing ample scope for manipulated entries to remain hidden."

Other institutions like the Village Vigilance and Monitoring Committee exist more as formality. The Social Audit (SA) and Muster Roll Verification by the Gram Sabha are also not carried out in the true spirit of the act, but merely because the central government asks the state to do so. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have been kept out of the SA, despite the earlier decision to include them in the process. Gram Sabhas, which rarely meet, now conduct the SA. The government has thus met the requirement of SA, but has effectively diluted its essence.

Of late, however, there has been some positive change in this area as the government has sought the expert help of the National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad to conduct social audit, which in turn has roped in the CSOs and activists.

Infamous 'cuts' culture
The practice of officials taking 'cuts', rampant in all government systems, is evident in NREGA works too. A staff from a block details the percentage cuts taken by officials and political representatives in NREGA works. It must be noted here that there are two types of NREGA works - one done by blocks and another done by gram panchayats. In both, the 'cuts' culture exists.

In the works done by the block, the BDO claims two to three per cent, block chairman three per cent, junior engineer five per cent, the auditor takes one per cent, cashier one per cent, head clerk half a percent and the data entry operator half a percent. Over and above these, the sarpanch, panchayat secretary and the panchayat executive officers (PEO) also claim their shares. The total percentage of direct pilferage may work out to be nearly 20-22 per cent. The contractor has his/her share in terms of percentage and/or some share from the material cost.
In the panchayat works in Bolangir district, the surveyors have revealed the percentage system. BDO takes two per cent, junior engineer five per cent, assistant engineer three per cent, other block staff one per cent, PEO five per cent, GP secretary three per cent, miscellaneous three per cent. The total works out to be 22 per cent.

One BDO unofficially shares that the Zilla Parishad chairperson of his district sits over the approval of the annual district plan on NREGA so that his cadres get the work and he gets his cut. Jogendra Behera, an MLA from Titlagarh in Bolangir district, wrote to a BDO to grant NREGA works in favour of his contractors. Social activists say that the percentage system has an intricate relationship with the election process at the panchayat levels and above. A part of the percentage cuts goes as funding to election processes. Since the percentage cuts in NREGA also fill the coffers of the MLAs, they seem reluctant to raise the issue of lackadaisical implementation of NREGA in the state assembly or in other forums.

However, there is some good news. Almost all agents of implementation like the junior engineer, the VLW and the contractors agree that under NREGA managing percentage cuts has considerable risk, and eventually it will go down particularly after payment through banks and post offices, which has just begun, becomes fully operational. In this system, the payment amount is deposited in a labourer's account by cheque. Hence, there is no scope of manipulation by those distributing the payment as now there are two levels where the record of payment can be cross-checked -in the muster roll and in the bank account details.

Perpetuity of the contractor system
Even though the law strictly bans the involvement of contractors in NREGA works, they continue to be involved directly or indirectly. Jitendra Rath, social activist, says, "The mates are none other than the traditional contractors in disguise. They get themselves elected in the Palli Sabha meets, which in most cases are influenced by the feudal framework of the village constituting the sarpanch, contractors and other influential persons."

Other reasons contribute to the continuity of the contractor system such as the absence of provision of advance payment to the mates by the state. This prevents a lay person from taking up work. Inadequate staff is another contributing factor. A JE in Kalahandi explains that one JE has to cover nearly all the works in eight to nine GPs, which is physically almost impossible especially if the terrain is hilly. Therefore, to cope with the situation, he gets an expert (read contractor) to take charge of the work and he makes the payments accordingly.

Contractors turn goons
The prevalence of the contractor system has resulted in a mafia of sorts, sometimes in complicity with the panchayat, block level officers and even the police, targeting all those who press for banning the system. In October 2007 in the Tentulikhunti GP/Block of Navarangpur district, the BDO, owing to public and media pressure, agreed in writing to disburse unemployment allowance to eligible candidates. Immediately after, the contractors Ajoy and Bhima Panigrahi threatened the people of the area and the social activist working with them and forced them to write that they did not need the unemployment allowance. (It was only after the intervention of the Assembly Committee that they were given the allowance).

In December 2007 a social activist Trilochan Jaisingh in Tadema GP under Raygada block and district was allegedly beaten by the contractor's goons in the presence of the PEO. Later the Gram Panchayat Extension Officers and the BDO of the block, instead of taking action against the contractor and PEO, persuaded the activist to compromise. In Dombaguda village/Panchayat under Mohana block of Gajpati district, the people opposing the involvement of the contractor and rampant corruption in an NREGA roadwork were allegedly framed on false charges by the local police at the behest of the contractor and the sarpanch.

Provision of creches: egg or chicken first?
The law provides for creches at the worksite if there are five children below six years of the mothers working there. Only a handful of creches are reported in the entire state; these too were provided only after enlightened villagers demanded them. The concept behind the creches is that a mother with babies must be able to attend work and also the elder sibling (generally the sister) should not have to skip school to look after the baby.

Promodini Suna of Baguda village can go to work only in the morning when her elder daughter takes care of her younger sibling. In the second half, she has to remain at home as her daughter goes to school. Damati Chandan of Debripali village of the same GP cannot attend work as there is nobody at home to take care of her two-year-old son. It was not clear whether women did not report for work because of the absence of cr�ches or if there were no cr�ches because there weren't enough (five) children at a particular worksite
The question remains: should creches be provided first so women can attend work or should it be the other way round? "Creche should be mandatory if five such women demand it. But it would also require more sensitisation," says Jean Dreze.

Grievance redressal mechanism in disarray
Under the NREGA law and the Orissa scheme an aggrieved individual can make a redressal request to the BDO, who must act within seven to 15 days. If not satisfied, the victim can approach the collector and then the State Employment Guarantee Council (SEGC), which must listen in a time-bound manner. The SEGC itself was to be constituted within six months of the enactment of the act. In a public seminar held at Bhubaneswar in November 2007, villagers alleged that many of their complaints had not been heard by the BDO and the collectors in their districts. They wanted to know who to approach, as the SEGC had yet to be constituted. Thus, the penalty provision for the violation of the act remains uninvoked.

Rigid MIS
The Monitoring and Information System (MIS), set up by the Orissa government, can help in achieving discipline and consistency in record-keeping. However, in this initial phase, the rigidities of the MIS have contributed to promoting 'adjustments' in the written records. For instance, a muster roll can accommodate a worker without job card, but the MIS cannot. Similarly, the MIS does not allow employment to be given to a household that has already secured 100 days of NREGA employment in the current financial year.

These hurdles are typically overcome by making 'adjustments', either in the written records or at the data entry stage (e.g. 'clubbing' two workers' wages in the same muster roll entry). Thus, instead of alerting users to possible inconsistencies and irregularities in record-keeping, the MIS often covers them up. (Observations of the interim survey report: http://www.righttofoodindia.org/data/gbpant07orissa-social-audit-interim-report.pdf )

District collector of Boudh Shalini Pandit admits to adjustments being made in the MIS as many correct entries are not accepted by the existing MIS.

Shortage of adequate staff
"Haat pair band diye aur bolte ho ke daudo" (Our hands and legs are tied and we are being told to run), says a JE of Kalahandi district. He was expressing the inability to meet the demands of work measurements of many NREGA works due to shortage of adequate number of JEs. Similar problems are also faced by BDOs, PEOs and other such authorities, who have to implement other welfare schemes along with NREGA. Even though NREGA permits to spend four percent of the total allocation toward the salary cost of the officials to carry out the scheme, it's ironic that the state government has paid a deaf ear to the staff demand to carry out the work and manage a plethora of record keeping activities for the scheme.

Though many training programmes have been conducted by the State Institute for Rural Development (SIRD) for the officials and sarpanches, these have not been able to make the concerned staff properly aware about the act. The state government should consider outsourcing this task to the CSOs who have proved to be more efficient in training people.

Non-release of money for the current financial year
During the survey many people and mates complained of not being paid for months. Discussion with the authorities brought forth the fact that in some districts, the utilisation certificate (UC) of the expenditure of the last financial year (2006-07) had not been submitted to the centre leading to the withholding of funds in the current year (2007-08).

The latest situation in three such errant districts - Boudh, Kalahandi and Bolangir - is that Boudh district has recently submitted its UC, Kalahandi has received money after submission of UC and nothing is known of Bolangir. Since districts have been chosen by the centre as the unit for releasing money, responsibility must be fixed on the District Programme Coordinator (Collector) in the state for non-submission of the previous UC, though the concerned BDOs who have not done so should also own collective responsibility. In the meanwhile, why should the daily wage earners suffer for the delay?

Village feudal structure poses greatest challenge
The persistent feudal structure in villages often leads to discrimination, as one small section of society hoards the benefits of welfare schemes, often by conniving with the local bureaucracy. The case is no different in case of NREGA works. The panchayat and block representatives, officials, contractors constitute this feudal group, posing the most serious challenge for the successful implementation of NREGA. The percentage system and its linkage to funding the elections, hijacking of Palli Sabha and Gram Sabha meetings are the manifestation of this feudal character. Widespread illiteracy and silence of the marginalised sections have perpetuated the menace. It remains to be seen if in due course this legislation provides strength to the voiceless.

Second instance of unemployment allowance being paid
Following a relentless struggle, 63 people of Tentulikhunti block of Navrangpur district have been paid unemployment allowance for four days. This is the second instance in the country after Badwani district of Madhya Pradesh. In total 546 job card holders have received unemployment allowance amounting to Rs 1,04,355/- in three districts - Navrangpur, Kalahandi and Bolangir.

Says Jean Dreze, "No unemployment allowance has been given even in Maharastra where the employment guarantee act has existed for 30 years. Disbursement of the same in Orissa certainly exemplifies the strength of the NREGA legislation." However there are many other cases where eligible people have not received their due. Thuamulrampur GP under Jagannath Prasasad block of Ganjam district is a case in point where nearly 250 people applied for jobs in November 2006 and failing to get job within 15 days, applied for unemployment allowance, but to no avail.

Assertive villagers
The most significant aspect of NREGA is the increasing assertion of people who work under the scheme. The process of training and spreading awareness on the act by social activists and NGOs has created a situation wherein people are reported to be demanding their job cards, jobs, receipt of applications, etc. by way of staging dharnas, writing complaints and using the RTI Act.
Recently a group of people in Narla block of Kalahandi district staged a dharna in front of the BDO Nihar Dash's office to demand their unemployment allowance. The BDO had to accede. Both the GP and block level authorities of Ullunda block of Soanpur district denied receiving work applications from villagers. The applicants sat in a dharna in front of the block office till their applications were acknowledged and they were given dated receipt by the BDO.

OREGS Watch Group, a vibrant e-group
The e-group is intended for discussion on various aspects of the NREGA in Orissa - its practice, adherence and violations. It has nearly 400 members - from government and non-government organisations, NREGA activists and members of the Central Employment Guarantee Council (CEGC). This mixed and learned membership urges the government to respond to postings on the e-group.

Stern action by authorities sets example
During the survey conducted by the G B Pant Institute, a fake muster roll was found in Badhigam Gram Panchayat of Boudh District - an attempt to siphon off money from NREGA funds. Taking note of it, the district magistrate Shalini Pandit recovered the embezzled money of Rs.10,480 from the VLW/PEO, put him under suspension and ordered an inquiry by the vigilance department - all in 24 hours. Such strict actions will go a long way in preventing officers from taking the legislation for granted.

Government wakes up after pressure from CEGC
The members of the CEGC visited the three districts of Kalahandi, Sundergarh and Mayurbhanj from 20 to 23 November 2007 and then interacted with chief minister, panchayati raj minister, chief secretary and the officers of the panchayati raj department. The focus was to bring about some systemic changes for better implementation of the scheme.

Following up on the demands, the government has taken the following vital decisions:

*There will be a column for 'wage payment' in the JC. Existing cards will not be replaced, but the remarks column in the card will be used for the purpose by putting a rubber stamp on it. In case of six districts, which will be included from 2008-09, the JCs will carry separate column for wage payment.
*The gram rojgar sevak will be responsible for distribution and maintenance of the JCs.
Contractors will be banned in NREGA works. Saswat Mishra, additional secretary, department of panchayati raj, who is in charge of implementation of NREGA in the state says, "This is only a reiteration of already existing provision of the act. We have instructed the JE and VLWs, in whose names work orders are issued, to strictly abide by this provision and entrust the work to the VLLs selected by Palli Sabha, not to the contractors."
*Mates, who are able to make work measurements, will be appointed in line of the Andhra model. They will make measurements in lieu of the junior engineers. The government has announced the appointment of one lakh gaon sathis to help coordinate and assist in NREGA works along with helping JEs in work measurement.
*Social audits will be conducted in the state as conducted in Rajasthan. The government has requested the National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD), Hyderabad, to conduct 40 SAs in 19 districts (which were covered in the first phase of implementation) by the end of February 2008.

The government has also ordered an inquiry into the complaints of unemployment allowance of 2000 people from Kalahandi district submitted by Annie Raja, member of CEGC. The government has clarified that the entire amount will be paid from the salary of those officers found guilty of not providing work in 15 days, including that of BDOs of the district.

Other demands of the CEGC which are yet to be implemented by the state government are:
*Prompt action on complaints and putting in place effective grievance redressal mechanism.
*Use of single, uniform, numbered muster roll through out the state.

Clarifying the government's position on these demands, Saswat Mishra says, "A government order will soon be issued mentioning the time limit for various authorities to act on the complaints of the aggrieved public." On the issue of uniform muster roll he adds, "We have to wait till the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), GOI gives any order in that regard."

Complementary to the visit of the CEGC members, a state level public seminar on NREGA was conducted by the social activists of the state where people from various districts presented their cases and grievances. The seminar was attended by Annie Raja and Jean Dreze who were given the complaints. The compiled version of the complaints was sent to the state government on 14 December 2007. The government had promised to act within a month of submission, but that has not happened till date. Says Baidhar Biswal, additional secretary, department of panchayati raj, "Though we had promised to act within a month, the process has taken time. We have forwarded the complaints to the collectors; they will have to forward the same to the BDOs and then to the panchayats."

Conclusion
Despite many shortcomings in the implementation of the act, it has been proved beyond doubt that the NREGA is a classic legislation providing guaranteed entitlement to the rural folk. Even though it has not been able to check distressed migration from rural Orissa, in the long run, it can check the same as most of the migrant labourers said with conviction that if they got 100 days of assured employment in their villages they would not venture out of state.

"The fact that the whole state administration has been alerted to put NREGA in priority list is itself an achievement," say Jean Dr�ze. In fact the legislation has brought about a new ray of hope among the people and the civil society organisations. Comparing the initial period of implementation with the current position, the act has got a proper direction in the state and things have started falling in line.

Pradeep Baisakh 2 Feb 2008
Pradeep Baisakh is a freelance journalist based in Orissa.

GO-NGO partnership in Social Audit: a worthwhile exercise

This article came in "View Point", the sociological e journal in July-December 2007 issue.

http://www.geocities.com/husociology1/socialaudit2007.htm

GO-NGO partnership in Social Audit: a worthwhile exercise

Pradeep Baisakh

“Pata nehin me kis platformse bolrahahon…humareliye bhi ye neyi uplabdhi he… , hum bhi janna chahrahen kahan galti ho rahahe…” (Don’t know in which platform am I talking from…these are also a new experiences for us…we also need to learn where lie the lacunae) tells Kamal Kishore Soan, the Deputy Commissioner of Ranchi in the response to the observations made by the team that conducted social audit on Ranchi on NREGA.

A thousand of crores of rupees is spent on the rural employment guarantee scheme for providing job guarantees and build durable infrastructure in the villages. To make the programme a ‘People’s Programme’ a lot of provisions have been adopted such as identifying the work and choosing the mate in Gram Sabha meetings, wage payment in front of the villagers and after all the provision of social audit by the Gram Sabha directly or through Village Vigilance and Monitoring committee etc.

A “social audit” is a physical verification of government works carried out by the people, which is an independent process from the government audit. Social audit is a mandatory requirement under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. In this pursuit, NIRD (National Institute for Rural Development), in association with Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) of Rajsthan, which is expert in the field of muster roll watch and social audit, has been conducting social audit on NREGA works in six districts of the country starting from Dungerpur in Rajasthan, Anantpur district of Andhra Pradesh, Kalahandi of Orissa etc to the final one in Ranchi district of Jharkhand, which was done from 14th to 21st May 2007. Social Audit in Ranchi was a collective effort of district administration of Ranchi, NREGA Watch-a conglomeration of civil society organisations and individuals in the State along with NIRD and MKSS. It was conducted in 16 Panchayats of 4 blocks.

Is social audit a process to find faults of the government? Does the Government-Non Government Organsation (GO-NGO) partnership in conducting SA create a paradoxical situation since at the end of the day it is the government, which would be nailed by the findings of the audit process? Nikhil Dey of MKSS says” SA is neither a fault finding instrument nor is targeted against the government officials; it is an instrument of accountability of the public servants to the public, who are the masters of the sovereign nation. The government participation in the SA would lead to strengthening the functioning of the system as the lacunae in the system would be identified in the process and will provide the opportunity to redress them.”

Before audit process started in Ranchi, necessary official documents like muster roll, work estimates, administrative and financial sanctions etc of the works were provided by the district administration those were consolidated by a small group of experts under the guidance of MKSS. This consolidation gives a first hand knowledge about the discrepancies in the records and points at the probable areas of corruption which may be cross-verified with the villagers and others in the field.

Two days training programme was organized in Bromvey, near Ranchi where participants from across the country were acquainted with the muster roll watch, and various provisions of NREGA. On the sidelines of the training, an interface of the district level officials was organised where Ms Karuna, who is in charge of SA in the state of Andhra Pradesh, spoke on various facets of SA to the officials. Sharing her experience Ms Karuna tried to dispel the fears from the officials mind the misconception that the SA is targeted against the officials and is a fault finding mechanism.

The trained volunteers were divided into groups to visit various panchayats. Each team conducted meeting among the villagers and spread awareness on the act; ascertained about the progress of the work under NREGA and various aspects like delivery of job cards, application for jobs, availability of jobs, payment of wages, worksite facilities etc. Necessary muster roll watch was done by cross verifying with the villagers and Abhikartas (the person who gets the work done or otherwise called ‘mate’). During the audit process, people shared with the groups about their experiences and grievances relating to the implementation of the scheme.

The public hearings (PH) were conducted in Panchayat and block levels basing on the findings of the audit process in the midst of a lively and in some places charged atmosphere. Despite attempts by vested interest groups to prevent people’s participation in these public hearings in some villages, people turned up in large numbers in most places. People came and testified fearlessly. In Karge Panchayat two of the beneficiaries of sanctioned works testified that the Panchayat Sewak had taken over Rs 500 from each of them as percentage cuts, and that they had made false muster roll entries to recover the amounts. While the concerned Panchayat Secretary denied this, it was established nevertheless that false muster roll entries had been made. In Silhadon panchayat, names of 10 women had been struck off the muster rolls when they demanded payment against providing drinking water to the workers. At the public hearing the panchayat sewak simply folded his hands and apologized, and agreed to pay the women for the work done within 3 days. During the PH in Angadha block, Ms Annie Raja, member of Central Employment Guarantte Council (CEGC), along with other activists was seen batting for the people’s rights under the act before the block level authorities. In one case, where people had worked for three days but were not paid as that project was scrapped afterwards, the BDO ordered the payment to be made immediately. Consequently on the spot payments were made to the people due to them for months together.

Corruption angle and percentage culture prevailing in civil works were coming to the fore during the process. The Abikarta of Kuchhu Panchayat of Angadha block alleged that the Junior Engineer (JE) had demanded bribe and was in fact paid the same to release cheque for the payment to be made to the labourers.

In yet another interesting case of Bijaram of village Chaudanda (Panchayat Tendi), he was told verbally to “go ahead” after he submitted the proposal in the block, without any written sanction. Two months later, he owes Rs 18,000 to the labourers but is unable to pay them because the Panchayat Sevak and others are demanding Rs 12,000 for releasing the cheques!

The PH proved to be a unique tool for ensuring accountability of the public servants to the public in a face to face interface. The otherwise inaccessible officials were seen answering the queries and assertions of the aggrieved citizens in an open and public platform. People, who were helpless before, were visibly empowered to fight corruption and defend their rights under the Act in the PH. Real democracy was seen to be in operation. Observing the people’s power exhibited in the PH, a lady who attended the PH at Angadha block, tells” “now the officials cannot escape from making right payments to our labour, now we can fight our case.” It also provided the space for better understanding among the officials and the people, for officials could understand the problems faced by the people and vice versa.

Following the PH at Panchayat and block level, in an open Interface with the Deputy Commissioner of Ranchi, various teams placed their findings before him. In response to the observations made showing violation of various provisions of the act, DC, Mr. Kamal Kishore Soan, in an emotionally surcharged voice told “Pata nehin me kis platformse bolrahahon…humareliye bhi ye neyi uplabdhi he… , hum bhi janna chahrahen kahan galti ho rahahe…”. (Don’t know in which platform am I talking from…these are also a new experiences for us…we also need to learn where lie the lacunae). He shared the difficulties an enthusiastic officer faces from the system. He also shared about the resistance he faced from his officials in bringing out the chart on schedule of rates and rate on ‘lift and lead’ from the veils of secrecy and putting in public domain. The DC honestly admitted that there were many instances where his officers have not been able to deliver as per the mandate of the act, but asserted that proper system should be in place for the same, for which he is not the only empowered authority. Many aspects also depend on the other rungs of the government (read-policy level of the State and of GOI).

During the discussion a group of young volunteers demanded from the DC for immediate suspension of a JE who allegedly was non responsive to the people’s legitimate demand. Intervening in the debate Ms Aruna Roy, the Magasaysay award winner and pioneer of ‘right to work’ movement of the country told that stress should be made on establishing accountability of the system to the public. This larger aspect need to be kept in mind while demanding immediate action of the errant officers, though no guilty should be spared.

Toward the last leg of the whole process, a State level symposium was organised, where the Joint Secretary of Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), GOI Ms Amita Sharma, Secretary of MoRD, Government of Jharkhand, Mr. A. K. Singh and the members of the Central Employment Guarantee Council (CEGC) Ms Aruna Roy, Ms Annie Raja , Dr Jean Drèze and Mr. Santosh Mehrotra, who is also the advisor to the Planning Commission, GOI were present. Many Deputy Commissioner of the districts also attended the symposium. Various policy and implementation level issues relating to the act were discussed there.

The symposium provided the space for the policy making level of the government to grasp the difficulties faced by the district administration and below in implementation of the act, which prompted them to take vital decisions at their level necessary for streamlining the implementation. For example, the Secretary, MoRD, Govt. of Jharkhand assured to expedite the ‘Time and Motion Study’ and revise the schedule of rates to remove the discrepancy with minimum wages on one hand and the payment as per the amount of work done on the other. Sensing the inadequacy of the staff structure at the implementation level, the Secretary assured to strengthen the staff structure in grass root level.

Ironically the symposium also helped in removing major communication gap between the policy and implementation level of the government. For instance, the MoRD, Govt. of Jharkhand had already sent instructions to the District Magistrates empowering them to appoint ‘mates’, but ironically this was in none of the DC’s knowledge. It may be noted here that the prevailing practice in the Sate is to assign the person to carry out the work in whose land pond is to be dug for providing irrigation facility under the scheme. This unhealthy practice, which has all the scope for manipulation of funds, was carried out apparently due to the absence of the provision of appointing impartial mates to carry out the task.

It also was a platform for bridging the gap between the State and the Centre. The Joint Secretary, MoRD, GOI clarified on many policy related issues and assured to look into the outcome of the audit process. The grievance of the DC of Ranchi that he is not provided with allocation he demanded, apparently since his predecessor was unable to spend the sanctioned amount, was taken note of by the Joint secretary, GOI who assured to release the money as per the demand for work by the villagers, which is anyway a legal mandate.

The DC of Ranchi promised the gathering there that he would take action on the officers guilty of siphoning off the funds under the scheme, after due inquiry is made on the basis of the findings of the SA process, within three days. Living up to his words, the DC, within three days, suspended 16 officials and FIR was lodged against five, who were guilty of receiving commissions, misappropriating funds under NREGA and reporting without visiting the field!

The CEGC delegation met the Chief Minister of Jharkhand Mr. Madhu Koda and apprised him of the process. In a written submission to the Chief Minister, the delegation drew attention to some major concerns related to the implementation of NREGA in Jharkhand which are as following: inadequate NREGA staff; exploitative work measurement; delays in wage payments; absence of Panchati Raj institutions; and monitoring systems. Practical steps to address these concerns were discussed with the Chief Minister who assured the delegation of his full support for the delegation’s recommendations.

The whole process brought out a lot of implementation and policy level issues those need to be addressed at various levels of governance. Despite the concern areas highlighted by the social audit campaign Jean Dreze, member of CEGC who visited Ranchi around same time last year opines “some important improvements, such as better awareness of the Act, more extensive distribution of job cards, and higher levels of employment have taken place”

As discussed, the joint involvement of both the government and non-government agencies made the process unique. The issues those came to fore were taken seriously by the authorities at all levels, which otherwise would not probably have been taken, if it had been effort of the civil society only.