Mahatma Gandhi NREGA

1. Mahatma Gandhi NREGA PROJECT DIRECTOR, DRDA WORKSHOP VIGYAN BHAWAN, NEW DELHI 8-9 July, 2013

2. MGNREGA Operational Guideline, 2013 New Chapters • Six new chapters: • Strategy for vulnerable groups (Chapter 9) • Quality Management of MGNREGA Works (Chapter 14) • Framework for Convergence between MGNREGA and other Programmes. (Chapter 15) • Organizing labour groups. (Chapter 16) • Partnerships with civil society (Chapter 17) • Strengthening Panchayats (Chapter 18) New Provisions in Each Chapter • Work flow chart for entering details of activity in NREGASoft. • Wherever applicable application of Section 25 for not adhering the roles and responsibilities mentioned in Act and Schedule.

3. Capturing Demand for Work Door to door survey: (Chapter 3, para 3.1) • The survey team should associate GP members, SC and ST members and women residents, a village-level Government functionary and the Panchayat secretary. SHG leaders, Anganwadi workers, Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) etc. should also be involved. Baseline survey to assess quantum and timing of demand for work: (Chapter 3, para 3.1) • A survey of job card holders to be conducted in every Gram Panchayat (GP), to prepare a base line to assess the quantum and timing of demand for employment in the GP. • It should be done once every five years. Multiple channels for submission of work application (Chapter 3, para 3.2) • Submission of applications for work must be kept available on a continuous basis through multiple channels so designated by GPs. • The multiple channels to receive applications for work and issue dated receipts could be ward members, anganwadi workers, school teachers, SHGs, village-level revenue functionaries, Common Service Centres (CSCs) and Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Labour Groups. [Ministry has issued an Advisory {J-11012/02/2012-MGNREGA, dated 31st May, 2013} for Registering Demand for MGNREGA works through Kiosks, Telephone, IVRS]

4. Planning of Work Habitation level as a planning unit: (chapter 6 para 6.3) • Needs of the people may be identified through consultations at the habitation level SoP for atleast two years: [Chapter 6, para 6.4 (v)] • A Shelf of Projects covering at least two years of implementation will enable: • adequate time for required technical scrutiny before granting technical sanctions and • eliminate delays in providing employment because of lack of requisite approvals. Priority of works:[Chapter 6, para 6.4 (vii)] • The order of priority of projects shall be determined by each GP in meetings of the GS and the Ward Sabha and will be reflected in the Annual Plan. All PIAs working within the GP must report their plans to the GP [Chapter 6, para 6.4 (vi)]

5. Contd. Time lines for preparation of LB (Chapter 6)

6. New Permissible Works Under MGNREGA

7. Execution of Works Labour : material • 60:40 to be maintained at Gram Panchayat level for all the works to be taken up by GP and for works to be taken up by all other agencies ratio maintained at the block level (Chapter 7, para 7.4) Negative list (Chapter 7, para 7.3 and Appendix 2) • Works like boulder, pebble or shrub removal, silt application and similar activities are not permissible as stand-alone activities except when they are part of tasks in projects for strengthening the livelihood resource base of rural poor. • Items of expenditure that are recurring in nature and/or do not lead to creation of durable assets, are not permitted under MGNREGA.

8. Execution of Works Revision in estimate as per revised SoRs(Chapter 7, para 7.7.9-7.7.11) • States must index their SoRs to wage rate and notify the revised SoRs within two weeks of a revision of wage rates. If States do not revise SoRs in accordance with the wage rate, workers will be unable to get the stipulated wage under MGNREGA. • The DPC must revise the approved estimates for projects in the Annual Plan which are yet to be started. This should be done on a suomoto basis by the DPC and the revised estimates conveyed to the project implementation authorities. • For projects which are under execution when the SoRs are revised, the DPC may conduct a survey re-estimating the value of the unfinished portion of works. The entire process of re-estimation must be done within a period of one month of the revision of SoRs.

9. Strategy to Address Incomplete Work • The GP should first allocate works that are incomplete and have the required labour employment potential. • State Governments to issue necessary directions capping the number of works that can be opened up in any GP at a given time while there are incomplete works in the same GP. • When allocation of work is done through NREGAsoft, the system will throw up a list of such incomplete works so that these are allocated first. • Works which are to be executed over more than one year, may be split into annual work elements, with each annual segment given a distinct work identity. (Chapter 7, para 7.17)

10. DBT: Direct Benefit Transfer • A National Committee (with PM as chairperson) has been constituted to coordinate action for introduction of DBT to individuals under various government schemes (Notification PMO dated 25/10/2012). • Under MGNREGA DBT is being implemented through e-FMS in a phased manner in all Phases-I & II DBT districts (109 districts) and subsequently to all remaining districts under MGNREGA. • Electronic Fund Management System (e-FMS) is one of the module of MGNREGA MIS (NREGASoft) which leverages the Core Banking infrastructure of commercial banks and “Sanchay Post“ solution of Post offices to credit the accounts of the beneficiaries. • e-FMS can be used for making all times of payments viz. Wage, Material, administrative expenses, etc.

11. e-FMS: Activity Flow Work Allocation Registration of Worker Issuance of Job cards Demand for work Work Allocation Registration of Worker Issuance of Job cards Demand for work Preparation of MB By Engineer Daily Attendance Generation of E-Muster Preparation of FTO debiting Account wise Preparation of Wage slip & Wage list Material List preparation Material Procurement First Signatory Second Signatory Admin Expen. List preparation Admin Expenditure Copy of FTO saved on State Archive FTO sent to Financial Institution

12. Quality Management of Assets (chapter 14) Quality Monitoring By External Monitors • Quality monitoring by external monitors will comprise of two parts: (i) The National level Monitors (NLMs) empanelled by the Ministry (ii) State Quality Monitoring Unit comprising of a State Quality Monitors (SQM) for each district in the State and a Nodal Officer of the rank of at least Superintending Engineers, at the State level. Empanelment of State Quality Monitors • SQMs will be selected through a transparent process. • Their services will be utilized not only for fact finding and work evaluation but also for providing professional advice to the agencies engaged in the implementation of MGNREGA. • No SQM will be allotted her/his home district. All SQM reports should be uploaded on the website.

13. Transparency: Social Audit • State to constitute Social Audit Unit, a Society or a Directorate independent of the implementing departments/agencies. • Social Audit Unit shall identify appropriate number of State Resource Persons (SRP), District Resource Persons (DRP), Block Resource Persons (BRP) and Village Resource Persons (VRP), to facilitate the Gram Sabha in conducting social audit. • The Social Audit Unit shall at the beginning of the year, frame an annual calendar to conduct at least one social audit, in each Gram Panchayat, every six months • A copy of the calendar shall be sent to all the District Programme Coordinators for making necessary arrangements. • The Gram Sabha shall be convened in a neutral public space and in any case not in the hamlet/village of the head of the panchayat. • The meeting shall be chaired by an elderly villager who is not a part of Panchayat or any implementing agency.

14. Transparency: Social Audit • All the officials responsible for implementation must be present in the meeting to answer queries from the members of the Gram Sabha. • The entire proceeding of the Social Audit Gram sabha shall be video recorded, compressed using latest compression techniques (to reduce space occupied by it) and uploaded on website, www.nrega.nic.in without editing. The video recording will also be stored in the custody of District Programme Coordinator. • The social audit reports shall be prepared in local language by the Social Audit Unit. • The State shall provide a platform at Intermediate Panchayat level for Pradhan/Sarpanch and members of Gram Panchayat to discuss issues related to implementation of MGNREGA. Similar, platform shall be provided at the District level for Pramukh and members of Block Panchayat. • The Comptroller and Auditor General of India, or any person appointed by him in this behalf, shall have the right to conduct audit of the accounts of schemes at such intervals as he may deem fit.

15. Modes of Convergence Modes of Convergence • Funds may be made available from other schemes to meet cost of an identifiable part of the project that could result in enhanced durability of assets created / proposed using MGNREGA funds. • Funds may be made available from other schemes as livelihood component for putting to use for livelihood, assets created/ proposed using MGNREGA funds • The third mode could be to provide for technical inputs from concerned departmental officials. The inputs could be either in the form of supervision by technical staff during work execution for improving the quality of assets created/ proposed or for capacity building for using assets under MGNREGA for livelihood. • A combination of two or more of the above modes is also possible. • Note: While exploring options for convergence, care must be taken to ensure that MGNREGA funds do not substitute resources from other sectors or schemes. MGNREGA funds are intended to create additional employment and this will not happen if the employment currently generated by other programmes is substituted by the MGNREGS.

16. Key Stakeholders, Institutional Architecture, Strengthening Panchayats Human Resources and Institution • Cluster Facilitation Teams: A team of four specialist at cluster level in the area community mobilization, soil & moisture conservation, agriculture & allied activities, MIS & ICT (Chapter 4, para 4.2.3) • Panchayat Development Officer and Junior Engineer in LWE district . (Chapter 4, para 4.2.5) • Dedicated PO in Blocks that have high concentration of SC/ST/landless labourers and are likely to have more demand for MGNREGA works should have a dedicated PO for MGNREGA. (Chapter 4, para 4.3.1) • Additional DPC exclusively to look into the day to day operations of MGNREGS (Chapter 4, para4.4) • Block Resource Group (BRG) (Chapter 4, para 4.2.3) • State Employment Guarantee Mission and National Management Team (Chapter 4, para 4.5.1 & para 4.6.1) • District-level Technical Committee (DTC) TO examine GP and Block Development Plans on the basis of technical considerations and the district level development priorities. (Chapter 4, para 4.4.3)

17. Capacity Building • Network of Capacity Building Institutions for building the capacity of MGNREGA functionaries (Chapter 5, para 5.2) • Training and CSOs • Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) with track record and experience may be engaged. • Training Model • A Cascading model as an interdependent chain, from national to state to District levels will be adopted to build the capacity of functionaries engaged in the implementation of MGNREGA. • Training Modules • Suggestive training modules for each functionaries are provided in the Guidelines.

18. Partnership with CSOs Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) with track record and experience may be engaged in the following areas: • In awareness building, mobilization, support & strengthening capacities of wage seekers • In training & support for institutions at state, district, block and sub block level • As implementation support teams for GPs at cluster level, especially to provide technical support • In transparency process relating to vigilance & social audit • In monitoring and evaluation, taking up action research to develop new models Selection of CSOs • The CSOs and technical resource agencies should be identified through a careful screening process. Proven record of building partnerships with government and other non-state stake holders.

19. Strategy for Vulnerable Groups Some of the special categories are: • Persons with disabilities • Primitive Tribal Groups • Nomadic Tribal Groups • De-notified Tribes • Women in special circumstances • Senior citizens above 65 years of age • HIV positive persons • Internally displaced persons Identification of works for vulnerable group: • Each State Government will identify specific works, which can be done by the disabled and vulnerable persons. • should be given preference for appointment as mates for MGNREGA works and as workers for providing drinking water, to manage crèches etc. at the work sites. • BNVs, NYK & SHGs for mobilization of workers • Organizing labour groups. (Chapter 16) • Partnership with Civil Society (section 2 (g) of MGNREGA) (Chapter 17)

20. Labour Groups Formation of Labour Groups • To provide a platform to workers for articulating their collective voice and demand of the wage seekers. • Only workers who have put in 10 days of work during the previous year would be made eligible to be a member. • The MGNREGS staff would facilitate the formations and functioning of the Groups with Programme Officers being the nodal persons. • Ensure that the entitlements of MGNREGA are accessed in letter and spirit. • Ensure that the quality of work is to the desired level. • Guard against malpractices and bring to the notice of authorities any malpractices.