'Haath milane aye hai, hilane nai,' was the message imparted at the Uttar Pradesh state-level NREGS advocacy workshop organised by the PACS Programme in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, on November 8, 2008, to emphasise that CSOs, beneficiaries and the state government had come together for a common cause -- to collectively address issues relating to the NREGS and find immediate solutions to problems.

And the message was translated into immediate action. Manoj K Singh, commissioner, department of rural development, presented a cheque of Rs 25,000 at the conference venue itself, to the family of deceased NREGS worker Kaluram whose case was presented at the workshop (see details of the case later in this report).

On hearing the story, the commissioner issued instructions to his subordinates to ensure that the compensation payment formalities were completed immediately, before the workshop ended.

Panellists at the workshop, organised as part of the third phase of the PACS Program me's NREGS Campaign 2008, included Commissioner Manoj K Singh, Dr B N Prasad, associate professor, Giri Institute of Development Studies, Dr Prakash Louis, social scientist and advisor to the PACS Programme, social scientist Sebha Hussain, social worker Runa Banerjee, and Kiran Sharma, director, PACS Programme, and vice-president, Development Alternatives.

Representatives from 34 CSOs attended the workshop with case studies to support their field observations. A total of 14 case studies were presented, emphasising a number of issues negatively impacting the performance of the NREGS in Uttar Pradesh. Positive outcomes of the PACS Programme's NREGS Campaign 2008 were also highlighted.

Low participation of women

CSOs stressed that the presence of women, particularly Muslim women, at NREGS worksites in Uttar Pradesh was low. There is also poor awareness about their entitlements under the NREGS, and the procedures involved. Relatively few job cards are issued when the applicants are women; or there are delays in the issue of cards (read a related story here).

If made aware of their rights, more women would benefit from the NREGS.

Indiradevi from Banni village, Bhishnupura gram panchayat, Nichlale block, Maharajganj district, was working under the NREGS but did not have a job card. Like the rest of the villagers, she thought that job cards had to be in the possession of the sarpanch.

During the PACS Programme campaign, she learnt about job cards, how to apply for work, unemployment allowance, and facilities at the worksite.

On July 26, 2008, Indiradevi and her friends got together to meet the sarpanch and demand their job cards. But they were turned away. On August 8, 2008, at a village meeting, the women decided to lodge a complaint against the sarpanch. On August 12, 2008, a complaint was lodged with the sub-divisional officer (SDO).

This put a lot of pressure on the sarpanch who finally distributed the job cards on August 20, 2008.

Payment delays

CSOs routinely reported delays in payment for work done under the NREGS, during the PACS Programme NREGS Campaign.

Ramowthar Puthra, 40, a scheduled caste resident of Badausa, Naraini block, Banda district, worked for 168 days at an NREGS road construction site in 2006-2007. As was revealed at the workshop, Puthra did not receive any wages until November 2008.

He was repeatedly told that the work had not yet received sanction and that he would be paid as soon as the gram panchayat got a letter to this effect.

On March 3, 2008, Puthra submitted a complaint to the nodal officer of the block, at the village gram sabha meeting. The officer instructed the sarpanch to make payment immediately. But nothing happened.

On August 19, 2008, Puthra gave another written complaint at the tehsil level, on the day earmarked for receiving complaints from the public. Again, nothing was done.

Incorrect entries in job cards

CSOs came across several instances where job cards had been misused.

Ram Kishore, of Teliyani village in Aaspur Devsara block, Pratapgarh district, worked at an NREGS site for 69 days, for which he received proper payment. But later, when he got his job card, he found that the number of days marked was 119 days -- 50 days more! He contacted the gram pradhan to get the error rectified, but was told to keep quiet about it.

Similarly, in Shahpur village of Khanpur panchayat, Haidargarh block, Barabanki district, Barsati and his father got work under the NREGS for 30 days, in November 2007. However, when Barsati received his job card it showed that he had worked for 24 days only. Worse, he was paid only for 10 days, at the rate of Rs 58 per day.

Barsati has visited the gram pradhan a number of times since then, but full payment has not yet been made. Nor have the entries in his job card been corrected.

Barsati owns 10 bighas of unproductive, non-irrigated land. There are five members in his family. To make ends meet, he works as an agricultural labourer and part-time rickshaw-puller in Haidargarh.

Other important issues that came up at the workshop included lack of facilities at the worksite, and delays in opening bank accounts.

In some villages, like the 20-odd settlements of Taungya planters in Maharajgang and Gorakhpur districts, no job cards have been issued and no NREGS work has been taken up. The Taungya villages are in a forested area where the NREGS has not been introduced as these villages are not under the revenue department. As a result, around 5,000 families are deprived of the sche me's benefits.

Positive outcomes

The workshop afforded CSOs an opportunity to present positive case studies too -- stories of people who are determined to make the NREGS a success.

Shiv Balak, an active member of Mahmoodpur Bannga gram panchayat, Barabanki district, filed an RTI application in July 2007 seeking information on expenditure from November 2006 to July 2007, proceedings of various panchayat-level meetings and NREGS registration details, as he noticed that many eligible families had not been registered.

But although he did receive the information he sought, he doubted its accuracy.

Balak decided to maintain his own register to record the attendance of labourers at worksites, and to check job cards. He realised that only 137 people in the village were registered and persuaded 50 more people to register for job cards. He also got others to submit letters demanding work.

At present, Balak is monitoring an NREGS site where construction work is going on. He is busy recording wage distribution to beneficiaries.

Following the presentation of case studies, the workshop was thrown open to the participants for discussion. Specific recommendations made by participants were incorporated in a memorandum submitted to the state government.

While social audit is a powerful tool to ensure proper implementation of the NREGS, its potential is not often realised because of lack of publicity. Beneficiaries and CSOs said that people are often unaware that a social audit is taking place in the village. They urged the government to correct this lacuna. Some participants felt NGOs should conduct separate audits.

An appeal was made to the government that NREGS funds be directly transferred to gram panchayats rather than channelled through the block office, to ensure faster implementation of sanctioned works.

It was suggested that in each district two CSOs should be appointed to work closely with local government on issues relating to the NREGS. And a strategy developed to help government reach out to the community more effectively.

Manoj K Singh, commissioner, department of rural development, assured the participants that immediate action would be taken on all issues raised at the workshop.

Compensation for death at the worksite  

In an unexpected gesture, the commissioner presented a cheque of Rs 25,000 to the family of deceased NREGS worker, Kaluram.

Kaluram was employed in January 2008 at a talav (pond) construction worksite under the NREGS, in Renigarapur village, Aspur Devsara gram panchayat, Pratapgarh district.

He worked for 17 days and was paid Rs 1,700, at the rate of Rs 100 per day. On January 26, 2008, Kaluram had an accident and died whilst working at the worksite. He is survived by his wife and four children; the youngest is just 13 years old.

Following his death, the village pradhan and members of the gram panchayat instructed the family to cremate the body immediately to avoid an investigation into the death.

The death certificate issued to his wife, Saraswati Devi, only said that Kaluram had died while working on the talav. The certificate did not mention that it was an NREGS worksite.

It was only in July 2008, when PACS Programme CSO Tarun Chetna conducted the NREGS campaign in the village, that the family learnt they were eligible for compensation.

Saraswati Devi duly demanded compensation but was refused it as she could not produce a job card. The card had never been handed over to Kaluram; it had always been with the sarpanch.

With help from Tarun Chetna, Saraswati Devi then filed an RTI application. The block office did not respond to her application.

Justice was finally done at the state-level workshop when Commissioner Manoj Singh initiated immediate action.

Says Aditya Vidyasagar, communications resource organiser in Uttar Pradesh for the PACS Programme: "It was the first time any state government official had acted promptly on a complaint against the NREGS in Uttar Pradesh."

The commissioner also instructed CSOs and block-level authorities to follow up on case studies presented at the workshop and report back to him within three days.

Cooperation between the government and CSOs continues to grow in Uttar Pradesh, he said. Appreciating the work done under the PACS Programme, he urged them to continue supporting the government in its efforts.

A final report based on discussions at the workshop has been prepared and presented to the state government for immediate action.