People's Democracy

Towards Implementing The Rural
Employment Guarantee Act - II

DIVERSIFICATION OF WORKS PERMITTED & ASSESSMENT OF DEMAND FOR WORK

THE experience of the numerous central government projects shows the necessity to have flexible rules regarding the type of projects to be taken up. Local bodies must have the freedom to decide their projects according to their needs and in this context the rigidity in the proposed framework of rules needs amendment.

The Act mandates that governments have to provide work within 15 days from the time when the demand is made. This is an unprecedented right given to the people. However, for its practical implementation it is essential to have accurate assessments of the demand that is likely to be made for work. At present the government is calculating that apart from the numbers of officially recognised BPL families, around 10 per cent of APL card holders may also apply for work under the Act. However, official estimates have been known to greatly undercount the extent of poverty in the countryside and the desperate need for work. Sometimes the so-called benefits offered to the low are more burdens than benefits and therefore not accepted by those for whom it is meant. For example, the poor offtake of foodgrains meant for BPL families has often been cited as proof that the poor do not need the subsidised grain when actually the real reason was the decrease in purchasing power on the one hand and the hike in rationed foodgrain prices on the other. There is actually a huge unmet demand for ration cards to get cheap foodgrains. Similarly, in many government employment schemes there may be a low turnout of workers because the scheme is not known or because the work conditions are so bad. Yet this is officially taken as an indication that the poor did not need to be provided work The other side of the picture is ignored that in spite of low wages and hard manual labour on many NFFWP worksites, those looking for work included not only the landless or agricultural workers but also impoverished peasant families who had no alternative means of survival. There should be no place for such an approach of deliberately under-rating the demand for work in the implementation of the REGA.

The framework for the rules regarding assessment of demand for work should not be made on prejudiced estimates because the effort then will be to under-register the workers. There will also be a huge mismatch between the work projects designed and the number of workers who register for work. The Act does include assessments made by gram sabhas of the demand for work. This aspect can be further strengthened by instituting village-level surveys as part of the rules so that more concrete assessments can be made of the demand for work. In Nadurbar, Maharashtra soon after the REGA was passed in parliament, the Agricultural Workers Union printed survey forms for all those who might want to work and as many as 30,000 workers signed and gave their forms to the district officer. This gives an idea of the huge demand for work if workers are properly informed. These demands may fluctuate depending on many factors like extent of work available in agriculture during the season, climatic conditions etc.

The schemes, as has been mentioned earlier must be in accordance with the needs and requirements of the village and the surrounding areas. The present framework includes the perspective plans made at the level of the district magistrate for the implementation of the NFFWP that was done in most cases by outside agencies with no participation of local bodies. The exception was seen in West Bengal where because of the important role assigned to panchayats and also their rights in planning, even the NFFWP were planned in consultation with them. In other states it resulted in many schemes that do not serve the interests of the poor.
 

Given the flexibility of the demand for work, the planning will require the widest participation of people of the village along with expertise of specialists. A number of projects will have to be conceived and kept ready in case of added demand. The Peoples Planning model in Kerala under the then LDF government provides some insights such as the experience of the labour banks. Here, all workers requiring work got themselves registered at the labour bank which “loaned” workers to farmers with specified conditions of work. Where the demand of farmers fell, the bank would, in conjunction with the panchayat of the village, offer workers work in several diverse programmes already identified and kept in readiness by the panchayat. The success of the programme was shown in the numbers of workers of one particular village that went up from just 50 workers in the first year to over 250 subsequently.

Representatives of north-east states have also strongly objected to the limited list of works on the legitimate grounds that in their states, given the spread of villages in the most remote areas, the schematic rules will ensure that the Act itself is sabotaged. The note from the Tripura Left Front government states: “The state government suggests for inclusion of works such as raising of rubber plantations, bamboo plantations, medicinal plants, construction of mud wall houses, laying of power lines, provision of drinking water etc. Besides there is a need to provide pucca buildings for various schools, anganwadi centers and social education centers. Thirdly there is a need to take up construction of a large number of culverts, small bridges to provide rural connectivity.” They have also pointed out that in view of the sparse population of tribal habitations there may not be the required number of 50 labourers in any one site, and therefore more flexibility should be permitted. The West Bengal government has also suggested expanding the list to include social sector work, without which it will be impossible to provide work during the monsoon season.

These are some examples of why the greatly centralised lists of works permitted must be changed and made more flexible. They must also permit social sector projects. In case the work is over 3 km from the village, conveyance arrange-ments will have to be made.

MEASUREMENT AND PAYMENT OF WORK

The most crucial aspect of the Act in terms of the rights of workers is the work conditions, work measurements and payments. Since in the limited employment schemes available the large majority of workers are unorganised and in extreme poverty-related vulnerability, the most inhuman conditions of work are often imposed. The main work in employment schemes, and within the limited current framework of the REGA is earthwork, which requires digging and lifting of mud. The schedule of rates applicable, almost as an iron law in most states, is based on high rates of exploitation within which female labour is the most exploited section. The common requirement is to dig 100 cubic ft within seven hours to earn a day’s minimum wage. The lift and lead rate for removal of earth is not counted as a separate labour process but is added to the earth digging process and rates are linked to amount of distance the earth has to be moved. In other employment schemes since it is commonly a group working on a particular project the extent of exploitation of the individual labourer often gets concealed as the group shares the amount though not necessarily equally. Where a man and woman work as a pair it has been found that the woman who usually does the earth lifting is not paid a separate full minimum wage. It was found in many states that to earn two wages the couple has to complete the impossible task of digging 200 cubic ft. After the studies of the NFFWP worksites conducted by the Party and mass organisations, this issue was raised with the Planning Commission on the basis of concrete data and a demand made for central initiative to revise the scheduled rates in all schemes funded by the centre. Coincidentally at around the same time, the principal secretary of the Andhra Pradesh government, K Raju initiated a time motion study in which officers were required to stay at the worksite for the full seven hours themselves to measure the feasibility of productivity standards according to a detailed schedule of different types of work, type of soil being dug and so on. The results of the survey are dramatic substantiation of the points raised earlier with the Planning Commission by us. It showed that on an average the worker was expected to do 50 per cent more than possible within seven hours of work. Following the study the Andhra Pradesh government notification has halved the productivity rate required to earn a minimum wage.

It is essential for the centre to ensure time-motion studies in collaboration with the states so as to reach a reasonable work standard and scale down the impossible productivity standards expected in current government schemes in large parts of the country.

As far as the REGA is concerned there is scope in the Act to ensure time rated not piece rated work. The relevant clause (Schedule 1, 1.7 of the Act) reads “When wages are linked directly with the quantity of work the wages are to be paid according to the schedule of rates fixed by the state government for different types of work…” In other words there is a possibility that wages are paid not directly linked to the quantity. The rules should further strengthen the scope of states to have the option to have time rated work instead of piece rated work which will provide a minimum floor level wage as specified in the Act for seven hours work.
 

At the same time the revision of scheduled rates is also essential.

Equally important, the rules should specify that all labour processes be counted separately so as to end the present unfair practice in many states of not counting separately the earth lifting work which is done primarily by women.

FINANCIAL ALLOCATIONS
 

As mentioned earlier it was decided in the meeting with Left parties and reiterated by the rural development minister in parliament and in the subsequent consultation meetings, that the government would be bound to pay the unemployment allowance in case the money for the implementation of the Act did not reach the state governments by the beginning of every quarter. Unfortunately this categorical assurance has not been included in the proposal of rules circulated by the ministry. This must be done. In the rules it can be linked to Clause 7(2) that mentions the “economic capacity” of the state government to pay the unemployment allowance. The linkage is necessary so that this clause should not be used as a loophole by state governments to escape paying the unemployment allowance. The northeast states have made a specific recommendation that since there are very specific conditions in their states and since the scope to raise additional resources is extremely limited, it is essential for the centre to enhance the financial allocations to these states. This is a most legitimate demand that should be pressed for.
 

CONCLUSION
 

The central government has not yet announced when it will start the implementation of the Act. However it is essential for all those involved in struggles of the rural poor for justice to intensify the campaign to educate rural workers of their rights under the Act. The campaign could include village-based surveys of the demand for work, individual applications etc. so as to build up the momentum at the local level to implement the Act so as to bring some relief to this exploited section of our people.