Manoj Kumar Singh, Commissioner, Department of Rural Development, Government of Uttar Pradesh, spoke recently to Aditya Vidyasagar, a PACS Programme communications resource person in Uttar Pradesh about implementation of the NREGS in the state. This report is based on the interview.

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has enabled wage-earners in rural Uttar Pradesh to improve the quality of their lives, says Manoj Kumar Singh, Commissioner, Department of Rural Development, Government of Uttar Pradesh.

Speaking to a PACS Programme resource person recently, Singh said that the impact of the NREGS has been quite revolutionary in two very distinct ways. First, he said, the NREGS has impacted minimum wages. Secondly, it has brought the schedule of rates (SoR) to realistic levels.

Another tangible result, he said, is that the NREGS has enabled the poor to rise above the poverty line; this is seen in a noticeable decline in the migration of labourers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to Punjab.

The commissioner admitted that discriminatory practices against women, dalits, tribals, senior citizens, the disabled, and other marginalised groups do exist. At the end of the day, these segments are still not able to avail of the NREGS in places where the district schedule of rates (DSR) has not been revised, he said.

Payment is made on the basis of work output which is determined by norms prescribed in the DSR. In handling all public funds, the balance between cash outflow and work output needs to be maintained. To reduce discrimination, instructions have been issued for a revision of the DSR to make it more realistic in all regions of the state. The commissioner said that as a result discrimination had reduced considerably in areas where the revised DSR was being implemented.

Singh sounded enthusiastic about establishing systems to ensure jobs for everyone under the NREGS, and issuing job cards to every beneficiary. An MIS system is being put in place that will provide information and monitor all aspects of NREGA implementation in an accessible transparent manner, he added. The process to appoint professional agencies to implement the MIS system is in its final stage.

The commissioner claimed that the appointment of panels of accredited engineers at the district and block level, technical staff, gram rozgar sevaks and mates has already been made for districts that came under the first and second phases of the NREGS; the process is underway for the remaining 31 districts in the state.

The commissioner said he was aware of complaints relating to the creation of a shelf of works, but said this would be sorted out once the MIS was operational. He appreciated the idea of a skills development workshop for NREGA functionaries with support from other agencies including non-governmental organisations.

About the problems people have in opening bank accounts through which their wages are to be paid, Singh said all district magistrates (collectors) had been told to make target-oriented arrangements with banks and post offices to ensure that accounts were opened and wages disbursed through them.

In response to a question about piloting the concept in some blocks, Singh said he was open to the idea; beneficiaries in Hamirpur and Jalaun prefer to be paid through banks and he was willing to consider any worthy proposal.

We are open to government-NGO collaborations in generating awareness about the scheme and also for training and orientation of district authorities and panchayat-level functionaries engaged in NREGS implementation, he said.

Asked how he rated the success of the NREGS, he replied: When it comes to any poverty alleviation programme, the focus is on attaining its defined, and also undefined, objectives which emerge during the course of action.

He acknowledged that irregularities in the scheme due to vested interests or sheer ignorance were enough to disrupt all the good work being done.

Implementing the NREGA in a state of over 180 million people, 80% of whom dwell in rural areas across 70 districts, is undoubtedly a challenge. It demands an ability to respond to and address all obstacles that come in the way of converting a needy person into a beneficiary. There is only one magic that will work: the will to deliver. And I can humbly assure you on that, the commissioner concluded.