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Programming the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to Succeed

An ambitious public program (commonly referred to as NREGS) launched in 2006 to strengthen economic opportunity among India's rural poor. In the opinion piece below, a Ford Foundation partner argues that greater governance measures—and a healthy boost of innovation—are necessary to ensure the plan serves the millions of Indian citizens who need it most. The author, Pramathesh Ambasta, serves as coordinator of the National Consortium of Civil Society Organisations on NREGA (the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) and is co-founder of Samaj Pragati Sahayog (SPS), a nonprofit based in central India that aims to strengthen the livelihoods of the rural poor. The Ford Foundation works with SPS through our Expanding Community Rights Over Natural Resources initiative and joins a partnership of donors in support of the national consortium.

Published in The Hindu: October 30, 2009
By Pramathesh Ambasta

In two general elections since 2004, the "other" India has spoken loud and clear to the few enclaves of prosperity that dot the country's grim development landscape: if growth is not inclusive and broad-based, its wheels will come off, severely undermining the very fabric of Indian democracy. In this context, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme acquires great significance. For, it marks a historic opportunity for pushing ahead with governance reforms in rural India. However, much more needs to be done before NREGS possibilities become a reality. For, the average days of work per household were only 48 in 2008-09. The record of productive assets creation has been poor if not altogether dismal. Long delays in wage payments, sometimes for several months, and the spectre of corruption rearing its ugly head indicate the failure of entitlements reaching the poorest of the nation, thus defeating the very purpose of NREGS.

An analysis of these symptoms suggests that there are clear reasons why the results are not along expected lines. Though no magic bullet or quick fixes exist, solutions may well be within our reach. As several observers have remarked, a critical lacuna in the implementation of NREGS has been the shortage of dedicated human resource, with an overloaded bureaucratic structure given "additional charge," leading to delays and poor quality output. Attempts to piggyback a radically new people-centred programme on to a moribund bureaucratic structure of implementation simply do not work.

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Learn more about the National Consortium on NREGA.