Report_of_Workshop_on_RTI__NREGA

District level Workshop on NREG Act 05 and RTI Act 05

ITDA Conference Hall, Paralakhemundi, Gajapati

Orgd. by SERVE and Gajapati Vikash Manch (GVM)

In collaboration with IGSSS, Bhubaneswar

on 18/19 July 2006

To sensistise and orient a select number of grassroots level volunteers working among the rural poor in different parts of the Gajapati district on the recently enforced national legislations i.e. NREG Act 2005 and RTI Act 2005, a two-day District level Workshop was held at ITDA Conference Hall, Paralakhemundi, Gajapati on 18-19 July 06 under the joint aegis of SERVE and Gajapati Vikash Manch in collaboration with IGSSS, Bhubnaeswar. A total of 52 participants drawn from 8 NGOs had taken part in the deliberations of the Workshop. Mr.Asim Mohapatra representing IGSSS was present throughout the Workshop to observe its proceedings while Mr.Chitta Behera Advisor to Orissa Right to Information Campaign served as the Resource Person on the theme of the Workshop.

FIRST DAY: 18 JULY 2006

Inaugural Session:

The Workshop was formally inaugurated at around 11.30 AM on 18^th of July by Mr.Asim Mohapatra of IGSSS by way of lighting of ceremonial candle by him. Then Mr.Jagannath Sahu of SERVE, the Convener of the Workshop formally welcomed in the guests and participants. He also spoke a few words about the objectives of Workshop. He observed that the Workshop was being organized to impart a working knowledge on both RTI Act and NREG Act, two principal legislations passed in the year 2005 for empowering the common man. The participants who would receive the lessons on these Acts in course of the two-day workshop are supposed to assist and guide the common people at village level in their respective areas to avail their benefits in days to come.

Then followed a brief talk by Mr.A.Jagannath Raju, Secretary CCD, Paralakhemundi, who observed that recognizing the importance of RTI law, his organization had organized a district level Workshop like the present one some months back and it had created some positive impact on the administration in the matter of their preparation for implementing the RTI Act in different offices. Afterwards the NREG Act came into force throughout the country including Orissa. This Act, which is meant to bring in benefits to the millions of rural poor does also require application of RTI Act for its proper implementation. Now the civil society groups of Gajapati district need to come forward with a right perspective in view to facilitate the proper operationalisation of these two Acts at ground level.

Mr.Asim Mohapatra of IGSSS in his inaugural talk stressed the importance of NREG Act as a citizen’s right to work in rural India, and that of RTI Act as an instrument of governance reform. Both are significant from the common man’s point of view. It is therefore essential that the participants of this Workshop grasp the various nuances of these Acts so that they shall be able to guide successfully the people living in the villages to achieve their entitlements from the Government by using them.

Then Mr.Chitta Behera, the Resource Person on the subject first of all complimented SERVE for giving him an opportunity to discuss NREGA and RTI, two important topics of the contemporary discourse among the civil society across the country. He also gratefully recollected his visit to Parlakhemundi twice before in the current year to attend Workshops on RTI, the first time organized by CCD in February, and next by CURE in collaboration with CENDERET in February 06. Then he gave a brief introduction on the thematic agenda to be covered in course of the two-day Workshop. The following items were suggested for coverage:

1- Acquiring of working knowledge to handle issues around NREG Act and RTI Act at ground level;

2- Field visit, if possible, to the concerned offices to test the knowledge so acquired;

3- Preparation of Memoranda and Complaint Petitions, addressed to the competent authorities for redressal of omissions and commissions, if any in the construction of the concerned laws and rules, and in the manner of implementation thereof by the governmental agencies; and

4- Formulation of an Action Plan for the future.

A information pack containing the following reading materials were distributed to the participants as an aid to the understanding of the provisions the concerned Acts and Rules-

- A Booklet on RTI Act that contained (i ) Oriya translation of RTI Act 2005, (ii) Oriya translation of Central RTI Rules 2005, (iii ) Oriya translation of Central RTI (Amendment) Rules 2005, (iii) Oriya translation of Central Information Commission (Appeal Procedure) Rules 2005, and (iv) Oriya translation of Orissa RTI (Amendment) Rules 2006.

- A 4-page Synopsis in Oriya of the NREG Act 2005

- A Booklet containing FAQ in Oriya on NREG Act 2005

- A 2-page Oriya leaflet on NREG Act 2005

- A 1-page Telugu leaflet on NREG Act 2005

- A Wall Poster in Oriya depicting the essential provisions made under NREG Act

Then as regards the method of interaction on the business of the workshop, the Resource Person told that it would be conversational, which means that any participant can interrupt the resource person at any point if he/she felt that something needs to be pushed through at that point. And reversely the resource person can also abruptly ask any participant any question to elicit an answer from him or her around the matter being discussed.

Before parting with the session, the resource person explained some frequently used words like Act and Rules with the examples from the two legislations under discussion. An Act is a law made by the legislature of a province or of the Union, whereas the Rules are made by the Government, or so to say, by the executive wing of the State in accordance with the mandates of the Act. The Rules, otherwise called subsidiary or subordinate legislation can under no circumstances override the letter or spirit of an Act. For instance, the RTI Act 2005 was passed by the Parliament, whereas the RTI Rules were framed by the Central Government and State Government. Another instance is the NREG Act, which was passed by the Parliament, whereas the Rules and Schemes under it are supposed to be made by the Central and State Governments separately. Given such difference between the Act and Rules, one can easily make out whether a particular set of Rules made by an appropriate Government is in correspondence to the mandates of the parent Act. It may so happen that the Rules are made in contravention of the mandates of the Act. For instance, the Orissa RTI Rules 2005 has been framed in a manner contrary and contradictory to the mandates of the parent RTI Act. And that is why the Orissa Right to Information Campaign describes the Orissa RTI Rules as ultra vires the mother Act, and demands their replacement by an alternative, appropriate set of Rules to be formed on the basis of the public opinion elicited for the purpose. Similarly, one can judge whether the manner of implementation of the NREG Act in Orissa is in conformity to the mandates of the parent Act.

After such basic clarifications were made by the Resource Person, the inaugural session came to a close and all the participants dispersed for the mid-day lunch.

Post-Lunch Sessions

Elaborate Understanding on NREG Act

To start with, the participants introduced themselves besides telling about their work field and previous experience if any on activities related to NREGA and RTI. It was revealed that among the participants there were some Panchayat functionaries and SHG leaders too. However, only a few of the participants belonging to CURE had some knowledge and experience on RTI because of their earlier participation in the Training on RTI organized by CURE and CENDERET at Gajapati and Rayagada.

Keeping in view the interest of the participants for learning about NREG Act, the Resource Person informed the house that they should grasp the essential details of this Act as thoroughly as possible, so that they would be able to apply the knowledge so acquired for collecting the status of implementation of this Act from any concerned office at District, Block or Panchayat level. Moreover, the NREG Act itself contains some in-built provisions for transparency, which the participants on being trained can make use of to ensure its better implementation at any concerned level.

The discussion on NREG Act started with a loud reading of its essential provisions depicted in an Oriya Poster which was hung on the wall of the conference hall, followed by interpretation and explanation of each provision by the resource person. Since a number of participants had Saura as their mother tongue, two participants knowing Saura volunteered to act as interpretators between the Saura speaking group and the rest of the participants. As a result of this arrangement, some Saura speaking participants could take part in the deliberations with ease and facility.

The Resource Person observed that the Government of Orissa in the Panchayatiraj Department has published a FAQ on NREG Act 2005 in its website, based upon the FAQ published by Government of India in the Ministry of Rural Development. From this, one can get to know what is the official perception of the Act.

Frequently Asked Questions on NREG Act 2005

1. The Government of India has passed an Act that guarantees 100 days of wage employment in a year to every rural household whose adult members are willing to do unskilled manual work.

2. Who can apply for employment under the Act?

All adult members of a rural household, even if any person is already employed/engaged for few months in a year, he/she has right to demand employment as unskilled manual worker under this scheme. Priority to women: Women will get priority and 1/3rdbeneficiaries under the Programme are to be women

3. What is the kind of employment that the Act guarantees?

The Act guarantees unskilled manual employment, but also addresses the special need of physically challenged individuals and women.

4. How many days of the year can one get this employment?

A household is entitled for 100 days of work in a year and that can be divided among adult members of the household or whatever way the head of the household wants.

The work duration shall ordinarily be at least 14 days continuously with not more than 6 days a week.

5. What must one do to enlist for employment under the Act?

Registration of household: The adult members of every household should submit their names, age, sex and address to the Gram Panchayat for registration and this registration will be valid for five years and is open for the whole year. Gram Panchayat will do the verification of details submitted by household for registration.

6. What will the applicant receive upon registration?

A Job Card from the Gram Panchayat, this card will have photographs of adult members of registered household, it will be valid for five years and will have a unique registration number.

7. What is a Job Card. Why is it important?

A Job Card is important because it will have the registration number of the household. This card will have details about number of days on which employment provided to adult members of household and wages paid, would also enlist the works in which employment was given to the household etc.

A Job Card is a document that gives an applicant an entitlement for employment.

8. Where can one apply for work?

One can apply for work preferable at Gram Panchayat, but in case of non-availability of work at the Gram Panchayat level the application could be made to the Programme Officer.

9. How can one apply for work?

Application for work: to get employment the registered adult should request for it through an applicant on a plain paper in writing to Gram Panchayat or Programme Officer (at block level) and ask dated receipt of application. The applicant should be submitted for at least 14 days of continuous work.

For employment an application by a group can also be submitted, besides application in advance can also be submitted, indicating the date from which he/she wants employment under the Scheme.

10. Can individual application for work be submitted?

Yes. Registration of employment seekers is done household-wise. But within a registered households’ entitlement is for 100 days of employment in a year and the individual members of the household can also apply for work.

11. Where can one get employment within 15 days of the application or from the day when work is demanded?

Within 15 days of submitting the application, employment will be provided to the individual.

If employment is not provided, then the applicant would be entitled to receive un-employment allowance.

12. Who will allot employment?

Gram Panchayat and Programme Officer

13. How will one know that one has been given employment?

Applicants are to be told where and when to report for work within 15 days, by a letter sent by the Gram Panchayat. There will also be a public notice displayed on the notice board of the Gram Panchayat and at the office of the Programme Officer at the Block level, providing information on the place, date and the names of those provided employment.

14. What has the applicant to do once the employment letter has been received?

Report for work with Job Card on the date specified at the site where work has been allotted.

15. What happens if he/she does not report for work?

If the person communicated about employment doesnot report for work within fifteen days of being notified by the Gram Panchayat or Programme Officer, he or she would not be entitled for unemployment allowance.

16. Can he re-apply for work?

Yes.

17. What are the wages he will get?

The statutory minimum wage applicable to agricultural workers in the State unless the Central Government ”overrides” this by notifying a different wage rate. If the Central Government decides, it may notify a wage rate, which will not be less than Rs.60/- per day.

18. What will be the mode of payment-daily wages or piece rates?

Both are permitted under the Act. If wages are paid on a piece-rate basis, the schedule of rates has to be such that a person working for seven hours would normally earn the minimum wage.

19. Where will wages be paid?

Wages are to be paid every week, or in any case “not later than a fortnight after the date on which such work was done”. A proportion of the wages in cash may be paid on a daily basis.

20. What facilities are to be made available to workers?

Safe drinking water, shade for children and periods of rest, first-aid box with adequate material for emergency treatment for minor injuries and other health hazards connected with the work.

21. Where will work be provided?

Within 5 km of applicants residence. If employment is provided beyond 5 km radius of the applicant’s residence then he/she is entitled for 10% additional wages towards transport and living expenses. If some persons are directed for work beyond 5 kilometre, than persons older in age and women shall be given preference to work on worksites near to the village.

22. What are the facilities and provisions for a worker?

a) At work site: Safe Drinking water, shades for children, periods of rest and first-aid box shall be provided at every work site by the implementing agency.

b) In case of accidents: If any labourer gets bodily injury during the course of employment at work site, the persons is entitled for free medical treatment from the State Government.

In case of hospitalisation of the injured labourer, the respective State Government shall provide complete treatment, medicines, hospital accommodation without any charge and the injured person will be entitled for daily allowance which shall not be less than 50% of wage rate applicable.

In case of death or permanent disability to the registered labourer due to accident at work site, an ex-gratia payment of Rs.25, 000 or such amount as may be notified by the Central Government shall be paid to the legal heir of the deceased or to the disabled as the case may be.

23. What happens if employment is not given to the eligible applicant?

If the eligible applicant does not get employment within 15 days of demand of work or the date from which he sought work (date of submitting application), he shall be provided unemployment allowance as per laid down terms and conditions.

Allowance rate: The rate of unemployment allowance will be 25% of the wage rate for the first 30 days and 50% of the wage rate after that during the financial year subject to the household entitlements of days of employment.

24. What type of work will be given?

a) Durable assets: An important objective of Scheme is to create durable assets and strengthen the livelihood resource base of the rural poor, so that, even if Scheme is closed after five years, the rural poor will have means for sustenance and they are not forced to migrate in search of employment.

b) Work done through contractors is not permissible

c) The kind of works permissible under the Programme and according to priority are:-

(i) water conservation and water harvesting;

(ii) drought proofing . Afforestation and tree plantation.

(iii) irrigation canals including micro and minor irrigation works;

(iv) provision of irrigation facility to land owned by households belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes or to land beneficiaries of land reforms or that of the beneficiaries under the Indira Awas Yojana of the Government of India.

(v) renovation of traditional water bodies including desilting of tanks;

(vi) land development;

(vii) flood control and protection works including drainage in water logged areas;

(viii) rural connectivity to provide all-weather access. The construction of roads may include culverts where necessary and within the village area may be taken up along with drains.

(ix) any other work which may be notified by the Central Government in consultation with the State Government

25. Who are the authorities responsible for implementation?

a) Responsibility: Programme officer in consultation with Gram Panchayat will be responsible for implementation of the Scheme.

b) Execution of works: The Gram Panchayat will execute 50% of the sanctioned work and remaining work can be executed by line departments, NGOs and other appropriate agencies, as may be decided by District Panchayat.

26. What does each one do?

(i) Gram Sabha: Social Audit, Planning and Selection of works and according priority to works,

(ii) Gram Panchayat: Preparation of Plan for the Gram Panchayat, registration of workers, Providing Job Card to workers, Implementing 50% of the works. Payment of wages, Monitoring the performance of Programme in its area.

(iii) Programme Officer: Planning for the Block, Integrate the village-wise Plans, allotment of work, Implementation of Programme and provide employment to the workers, Provide Unemployment Allowance

(iv) Intermediate Panchayat: Preparation of Block Level Plans, Monitoring and supervision of Programme at the Block level.

(v) District Programme Coordinator: Overall Planning, Coordination, Implementation in the District.

(vi) District Panchayat: Planning and Monitoring of Programme in the District

27. How are they accountable for what they do?

They are accountable through continuous and concurrent evaluation and audit of the Programme by internal as well external evaluators. The authority to conduct social audit is vested in Gram Sabha, a Village Level Vigilance committed is to be setup by Gram Sabha to oversee each work. Moreover, any contravention of the Act shall on conviction be liable to fine which may extend to one thousand rupees. There will also be a Grievance Redressal Mechanism, that would be setup in each District.

28. When will the Scheme start?

The Act will be notified in 200 districts identified by the Central Government in the first phase on 2ndFebruary, 2006. Within 5 years it will cover the whole country.

Guidelines and Rules have been finalized. Most of the States have also formulated their Employment Guarantee Schemes.

29. What are the Guidelines and why are they required?

For the first time a legal entitlement has been provide to the workers to get employment by an Act of Parliament. To transmit an enactment into Schemes and Programmes, State level Schemes are being formulate by each State. Centre has issued guidelines to States, to provide them with basic structure for the preparation of their Schemes. In preparation of Schemes, a high degree of flexibility has been given to the States.

30. What was the process of formulation of Guidelines?

A detailed process of consultations was devised by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India with various groups of stakeholders, experts and practitioners. Suggestions were also solicited from the citizens, through advertisements in news papers. Through such detailed process the views were gathered and discussions conducted, which eventually resulted in the formulation of guidelines. Similarly States have initiated the process of formulation of rules and Schemes.

31. What are the activities to be taken before the notification?

a. A wide and detailed communication campaign to inform and educate the Stakeholders has been initiated. Gram Sabhas in the NREGA districts would be held on January 26, 2006 to mobilise the demand for employment and educate about the Programme.

b. States to finalise the list of works and prepare shelf of projects, with Technical and Administrative sanction accorded to the works. It is planned do be done in such a manner that the works are available to be taken up in each village/ habitation, specially in deprived areas

c. Key personnel involved in implementation of the Programme are being deployed.

d. Key functionaries, such as functionaries of Panchayati Raj and Officials involved with implementation of the Programme are being oriented for implementation.

e. Essential documents like stationary for registration, Job card are being printed.

32. What does notification mean and what are the activities to be taken up on that day?

The notification of districts where the Programme is to be implemented would be done on February 2, 2006. On this day Gram Sabha is to be held in each village and the process of registration workers would commence, but works would not start on this day.

33. What activities would be taken up after notification?

After the receipt of application for registration of workers, Gram Panchayat would conduct scrutiny of applications for registration, which would result in provision of Job Cards to those who would be found fit. After compilation of data and generation of demand for employment, work would be allotted.

34. What are the activities to be taken up within six months?

Training is continuing process and would continue along with the implementation of the Programme. Employment would be provided to adults volunteering to do unskilled work, which should result in creation of durable assets. The works should be so selected in the shelf of project which fulfil this requirement. A full proof monitoring and evaluation mechanism would also be prepared.

While elaborating on the provisions mentioned under FAQ, the Resource Person kept on asking the participants as to what was their actual experience at ground level in regard to implementation of NREG Act in their respective areas?

From the feedback by the participants, several facts were revealed. From among the participants, only one woman reported that she and some of her co-villagers could get some work under NREGA at the minimum wage rate of Rs.55/-. In other areas, the work has not started yet. Following instances of gross deviations from the Act came to light-

- Only names of the family members have been registered, but no Job cads issued to them;

- The Job cards carry no photographs of family members;

- No work has been started yet in most of the places;

- The Palli Sabha and Gram Sabha meetings were not held for preparation and implementation of the wokplan;

- Sarpanchs of most of GPs are hand in gloves with the concerned Block officials in making fake registrations and passing of the bills and vouchers;

- The people in the villages are still not aware of their entitlements under the Act;

- No social audit has been held of the works supposedly undertaken under NREG Act;

- Work-leaders are being unofficially engaged by the Block officials to mobilize the workers from villages; though they themselves don’t work as the workers mobilized by them, they are however paid daily a lump sum, which is much more than the minimum wage paid to a worker.

- No step has been taken for maintaining transparency in information and accounts relating to implementation of NREG Act;

- Less than the statutory minimum wage of Rs.55/- per day is being to the labourers.

- Confusion prevails over the piece-rate wage and time wage;

- The old pattern of lording over the Panchayat functionaries by the Block officials continues as before; and

- No grievance redressal mechanism has been set up at any level, District, Block or Panchayat.

Then it was understood by the participants that over all the NREG Act were being haphazardly implemented in Gajapati district, and the moot question before all is how to improve upon the level of implementation. The Resource Person suggested that the civil society groups can definitely improve upon the situation, and for that they need to get conversant with the exact situation prevailing at the level of each Panchayat and Block and also at the district level. As per the NREG Act the concerned officials at each level are supposed to maintain the records of progress in the implementation of the Act, which they send across to their higher authorities regularly on one hand, and keep them open to inspection by the members of the public on the other. It is very much possible that these officials can manufacture imaginary, inflated statistics for submission to the higher authorities so as to receive good amounts of money sanctioned from above. If the people can get to access these ‘official statistics’ and compare those with the ground reality, then only they can know how and where the deviations and discrepancies vis-à-vis the mandates of the parent Act are committed.

The Resource Person further observed that the NREG Act itself contains some definite provisions for maintaining transparency in the process of its implementation at every level. These provisions can be called as RTI component of the NREG Act. The participants should be therefore acquainted with these provisions thoroughly, so that they can check easily and quickly all the official records relating to NREGA in their respective areas.

Firstly, as per Section 17, (1) The 'Gram Sabha shall monitor the execution of works within the Gram Panchayat. (2) The Gram Sabha shall conduct regular social audit of all the projects under the Scheme taken up within the Gram Panchayat. (3) The Gram Panchayat shall make available all relevant documents including the muster rolls, bills, vouchers, measurement books, copies of sanction orders and other connected books of account and papers to the Gram Sabha for the purpose of conducting the social audit.

Secondly,as per Section 8 (1), if the Programme Officer is not in a position to disburse the unemployment disbursement allowance in time or at all for any reason beyond his control, he shall report the matter to of the District Programme Coordinator and announce such reasons in a notice to be displayed on the notice board of the Gram Panchayat and such other conspicuous places as he may deem necessary.

Thirdly, as per Section 15(5d), the Programme Officer is responsible for ‘ensuring that regular social audits of all works within the jurisdiction of the Gram Panchayat are carried out by the Gram Sabha and that prompt action is taken on the objections raised in the social audit’.

Fourthly, as per Section 23 (2) the State Government may prescribe the manner of maintaining proper books and accounts of employment of labourers and the expenditure incurred in connection with the implementation of the provisions of this Act and the Schemes made thereunder, and as per Section 23(3) the State Government may, by rules, determine the arrangements to be made for the proper execution of Schemes and programmes under the Schemes and to ensure transparency and accountability at all levels in the implementation of the Schemes. As per Section 23 (4), all payments of wages in cash and unemployment allowances shall be made directly to the person concerned and in the presence of independent persons of the community on pre-announced dates.

Fifthly, as per Item 13 under Schedule 1 annexed to the Act, every Scheme shall contain adequate provisions for ensuring transparency and accountability at all level of implementation.

Sixthly, as per Item 15 under Schedule 1, the District Programme Coordinator, the Progratmne Officer and the Gram Panchayat implementing the Scheme shall prepare annually a report containing the facts and figures and achievements relating to the implementation of the Scheme within his or its jurisdiction and a copy of the same shall be made available to the public on demand and on payment of such fee as may be specified in the Scheme.

Seventhly, as per Item 16 of Schedule 1, all accounts and records relating to the Scheme shall be made available for public scrutiny and any person desirous of obtaining a copy or relevant extracts therefrom may be provided such copies or extracts on demand and after paying such fee as may be specified in the Scheme.

Eighthly, as per Item 17 under Schedule 1, a copy of the muster rolls of each Scheme or project under a Scheme shall be made available in the offices of the Gram Panchayat and the Programme Officer for inspection by any person interested after paying such fee as may be specified in the Scheme.

Ninthly, as per Item 22 of Schedule-2, a list of persons who are provided with the work shall be displayed on the notice board of the Gram Panchayat and at the office of the Programme Officer and at such other places as the Programme Officer may deem necessary and the list shall be open for inspection by the State Government and any person interested.

Tenthly, as per Section 12(3d), the State Employment Guarantee Council is entrusted for promoting the widest possible dissemination of information about this Act and the Schemes under it.

Thus the participants can make use of the above provisions for accessing records and accounts relating to the implementation of Schemes and Plans under the NREG Act. And if the concerned authorities refuse to disclose information or allow inspection of the said records and accounts, then a citizen can lodge his grievance before the State Employment Guarantee Council, District Programme Coordinator and Block Programme Officer, as the case may be, depending upon the nature of the case.

And there are also some definite provisions relating to redressal of grievances of the public by the authorities concerned under NREG Act 2005. These are as follows:

Grievance Redressal under NREG Act:

As per Section 11(1c), the National Employment Guarantee Council is entrusted to review the monitoring and redressal mechanism from time to time and recommend improvements required;

As per Section 12(3c), the State Employment Guarantee Council is entrusted to review the monitoring and redressal mechanism from time to time and recommend improvements;

As per Section 13(3g), the District Programme Coordinator (Collector) is supposed to redress the grievances of the applicants;

As per Section 15 (5e), the Programme Officer shall deal promptly with all the complaints that may arise in connection with the implementation of the Scheme within the Block;

As per Section 19, the State Government shall, by rules, determine appropriate grievance redressal mechanisms at the Block level and the district level for dealing with any complaint by person in respect of implementation of the Scheme and lay down the procedure for disposal mechanism of such complaints;

As per Section 23 (5), if any dispute or complaint arises concerning the implementation of a Scheme by the Gram Panchayat, the matter shall be referred to the Programme Officer. As per the sub-section (6) the Programme Officer shall enter every complaint in a complaint register maintained by him and shall dispose of the disputes and complaints within seven days of its receipt and in case it relates to a matter to be resolved by any other authority it shall be forwarded to such authority under intimation to the complainant.

As per Section 32 (2d) the State Government shall make rules, consistent with the Act and the Central rules made thereunder, for prescribing inter alia the grievance redressal mechanism at the Block level and the District level and the procedure to be followed in such matter under Section 19;

As per Item 23 under Schedule-2 appended to the Act, if the Gram panchayat is satisfied at any time that a person has registered with it by furnishing false information, it may direct the Programme Officer to direct his name to be struck off from the register and direct the applicant to return the job card, provided that no such action shall be directed unless the applicant has been given an opportunity of being heard in the presence of two independent persons.Then the Resource Person cursorily dealt with the penalty provision made under the Act.

Penalty provision under NREG Act

Though the authority for grievance redressal has been entrusted to the District Programme Coordinator and Programme Officer at district and Block level respectively, the Act has not clearly stipulated as to who shall wield the penal powers to be exercised against a guilty person. The Section 25 merely says, ‘Whoever contravenes the provisions of this Act shall on conviction be liable to a fine which may extend to one thousand rupees’. Again, Section 30 provides for a strong provision for protection of the executing officers on the grounds of good faith. It reads, “No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against the District Programme Coordinator, Programme Officer or any other person who is, or who is deemed to be, a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code in respect of anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or the rules or Schemes made thereunder”.

After the participants got to learn about the provisions concerning transparency, grievance redressal and penalty under the Act, they were asked by the Resource Person, whether they felt confident of seeking or inspecting information on implementation of NREG Act from the concerned offices in their respective areas, further whether they could lodge complaint/grievance before the concerned authorities, if they were denied such information and/or if they found some gross discrepancy in the operational and record-keeping practices of any such authority. All the participants expressed their unequivocal willingness to undertake such interrogative exercises in their respective areas in the interest of rural poor, for whom the NREG Act has been enforced.

Then the business of the 1^st day of the Workshop came to a close, and the participants were told to get together at the venue of the Workshop at 9.30 AM the next day to carry forward the deliberations on the subject further.

SECOND DAY: 19^th JULY 2006

The business of the 2^nd day of the Workshop started around 9.30 AM at the same venue. First of all, the report of the first day was read out by a participant and endorsed by all.

Then the Resource Person wanted to know whether the participants were confident of approaching various public offices at Parlakhemundi for seeking information on various matters including status of implementation of NREGA by using RTI Act 2005. Majority of participants felt that since they still lacked minimum clarity on both NREG and RTI necessary for undertaking a practical exercise, it would be fruitful if the 2^nd day could be devoted to a further in-depth and critical discourse about the said Acts. And they assured that on return to their respective places, they would organize group visits for seeking information as allowable under both Acts.

The Resource Person agreed to the suggestion given by the participants. Then he suggested that the day’s discussion should first of all centre round the possible reasons of failure in the implementation of NREG Act at ground level. For this the various provisions of NREG Act should be read critically. As understood by him, the NREG Act despite its loud promise of providing at least 100 days of wage employment in a year to every interested adult in the rural areas and providing unemployment allowance to him/her in the event of failure to do so, suffers from some critical omissions and commissions, which if not remedied somehow or the other would continue to short-circuit its operationalisation at ground level. The participants should keep these congenital flaws of law in mind while working for entitlement of the wage-workers under the Act.

1) Ambiguity over the Role of Panchayat:

a) As per Section 13 (1), the Panchayats at district, intermediate and village levels shall be the principal authorities for planning and implementation of the Schemes made under this Act. But as per Section 16(5),the Programme Officer (BDO) shall allot at least fifty per cent of the works in terms of its cost under a Scheme to be implemented through the Gram Panchayats. And the Act nowhere makes it clear as to who shall implement the remaining 50% of the works and where and consequently, what shall be the role of Panchayats in relation to those works, and again whether the implementing agencies entrusted with the remaining 50% of works are bound to abide by the various norms stipulated under the Act, and if so how. Thus, the Panchayats though declared by the Act as the principal authorities for its implementation, are at one stroke debarred from the control over 50% of the money sanctioned in their name and for their respective areas. Therefore, it is worth apprehending that half the mount of NREGA money, that shall remain outside the ken of social audit by the Gram Sabha/Palli Sabha is likely to be squandered away through bureaucratic channel by the BDO and his colleagues.

b) The Panchayats, though declared as principal authorities for planning and implementation of the Act, do have no power for redressal of the grievances of the aggrieved persons. Rather the non-elective executives like Programme Officer (BDO) and District Programme Coordinator (Collector) have been given authority to hear all grievances, even including those arising against the elective bodies like Panchayats [vide Section 15 (5e) and Section 13(3g) of the Act].

c) Though the Panchayats have been declared as principal authorities, there is no surety that the work-plan of the projects finalized in a Gram Sabha/Palli Sabha shall be honoured by the Programme Officer and District Programme Coordinator, and money sanctioned against the same. As per Section 14(3), the District Programme Coordinator shall consolidate, accord necessary sanction and supervise and monitor the execution of the plans prepared at the Block level. Similarly, as per Section 15 (4) the Programme Officer shall prepare a plan for the Block under his jurisdiction by consolidating the project proposals prepared by the Gram Panchayats and the proposals received from intermediate Panchayats. And as per the sub-section (5) the functions of the Programme Officer include monitoring, sanctioning and consolidating the plans decided by the Panchayats within the Block. Thus the Panchayats shall continue to remain subservient to the BDOs and Collectors in respect of implementation of the NREG works, as earlier in case of other schemes and projects.

2) Uncertainty about payment of Unemployment Allowance:

As per Section 7 (1), if an applicant for employment under the Scheme is not provided such unemployment employment within fifteen days of receipt of his applicatIon seeking employment or from the date on which the employment has been sought in the case of an advance application, whichever is later, he shall be entitled to a daily unemployment allowance in accordance with this section. Then as per Section 7 (5), every payment of unemployment allowance under sub-section (1) shall be made or offered not later than fifteen days from the date on which it became due for payment. From the reading of these two sub-sections it appears, as if the unemployment allowance shall automatically reach the job seeker who was denied the job, within the stipulated period. But this is not so. Because, as per Section 8 (1), if the Programme Officer is not in a position to disburse the unemployment allowance in time or at all for any reason beyond his control, he shall report the matter to the District Programme Coordinator and announce such reasons in a notice to be displayed on his notice board and the notice board of the Gram Panchayat and such other conspicuous places as he may deem necessary. Then as per Section 8(3), the State Government shall take all measures to make the payment of unemployment allowance reported under sub-section (1) to the concerned household as expeditiously as possible. Thus the Programme Officer who is the disbursing officer in respect of unemployment allowance has no power to disburse it. What he can do at best is to report the matter to the District Programme Coordinator, who in turn shall report it to the State Government. Only on the orders of the State Government, the unemployment allowance can finally be paid. Is it possible for the whole reporting process to be completed in 15 days? And further, please mark the words ‘as expeditiously as possible’ used under Section 8(3), which carry no meaning in juxtaposition to the words used in course of Section 7(5), that is, ‘not later than fifteen days from the date on which it became due for payment’. Thus a cardinal entitlement of the citizen under the NREG Act, that is, ‘right to an unemployment allowance in the event of failure of the State to provide wage-employment’ may not reach the deserving persons at all.

3) Ambiguity over amount of wage entitlement:

From an overall reading of the provisions of NREG Act and especially its Section 6, and relevant items under the two Schedules appended thereto, it appears as if an unskilled person working for 7 hours a day shall be entitled to the daily minimum wage at the rate prevalent in the concerned State ( in case of Orissa it is Rs.55/- with effect from 1^st Jan. 2006). But a close and critical reading of various provisions of the Act itself would reveal that a person having laboriously worked for 7 hours in a particular day might not be entitled to receipt of the minimum wage. Item 7 under Schedule 1 says, ‘When wages are directly linked with the quantity of work, the wages shall be paid according to the schedule of rates fixed by the State Government for different types of work every year, in consultation with the State Council’. And it is well-known that the schedule of rates, which can be otherwise called as a schedule of piece-rate wages differs from area to area and from one type of work to that of the other. And that is why, the experience of implementation of NREG Act in several past months tells us that many villagers in many areas have not received the minimum wage of Rs.55/-, though they have worked for full day i.e. 7 hours. Due to simultaneous sanction of the dual modes of calculating wages, such as time-rate and piece- rate under the Act, there is no guarantee that against the 7 hours of manual work, a villager in Orissa shall get Rs.55/- as his/her minimum wage.

4) Weak and Ambiguous penalty provision:

As per the Section 25 , ‘Whoever contravenes the provisions of this Act shall on conviction be liable to a fine which may extend to one thousand rupees’. Again, Section 30 provides for a strong provision for protection of the executing officers on the grounds of good faith. It reads, “No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against the District Programme Coordinator, Programme Officer or any other person who is, or who is deemed to be, a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code in respect of anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or the rules or Schemes made thereunder”. Thus several intriguing questions arise, such as – Who shall penalize whom and in which procedure? What is the role of the mainstream Courts in respect of appeals under the Act to be made by the aggrieved citizens? How far is it justified to provide for the ceiling of only Rs.1,000/- against an offender, even if he might have allegedly misappropriated a huge amount of money, say, Rs.1 lakh ? The current penalty provision is so much a shady part of the Act, which raises more questions and doubts about the intentions of the Act than answer any.

5) A faulty and non-workable grievance redressal mechanism:

As per Section 13(3g), the District Programme Coordinator (Collector) is supposed to redress the grievances of the applicants, and as per Section 15 (5e), the Programme Officer (BDO) is authorised to deal promptly with all the complaints that may arise in connection with the implementation of the Scheme within the Block. And as per the Section 23 (6) the Programme Officer shall enter every complaint in a complaint register maintained by him and shall dispose of the disputes and complaints within seven days of its receipt and in case it relates to a matter to be resolved by any other authority it shall be forwarded to such authority under intimation to the complainant. Needless to say, since the BDO and Collector have been given wide administrative and financial powers in respect of implementation of NREG works, the cause of grievance is most likely to arise only when these officers act in a manner contrary to the norms of justice and fair play. So the natural justice demands that some independent and autonomous authority outside the mainstream administration, just like Information Commission at Central or State level, should have been set up to receive and dispose of grievances by the public against the acts of dereliction committed by BDO or Collector. But strangely enough, the Act has bestowed upon the potential breachers of the law the authority to sit in judgement over their own acts of omission and commission. It is therefore justly apprehended that no aggrieved person shall ever wish to loge any complaint or grievance before BDO or Collector against the misdeeds of the self-same officers. Thus the grievance redressal mechanism as suggested under the Act shall inevitably turn into a flop in no time.

After the above lacunae of the NREG Act were laid bare, the Resource Person observed that there was however no room for pessimism for the civil society groups who wanted to ensure the operatioonalisation of the Act true to its letter and spirit. He suggested that they should take advantage of the transparency provisions contained in the NREG Act or RTI Act to keep themselves abreast of the ground reality at the concerned level and assist the Palli Sabha/Gram Sabha in organizing social audit from time to time for bringing to fore the discrepancy and misfeasance in the manner of implementation of the NREG Act. And further they should highlight such cases of discrepancy and misfeasance through media and citizens’ forums. And simultaneously, they should carry forward a campaign for cleansing the NREG Act of its ills through an Amendment of the Act in future.

The Group Works on Action Plan

The participants then were divided into 4 Groups who sat separately each to suggest an action plan to be pursued in days to come by their common forum. Each group presented their findings in bold letters on Chart Paper hung on the wall and explained each proposal in response to the query by members of other groups. The following common points emerged from the group presentations.

- Further training and orientation on RTI Act and NREG Act,

- Practical exercise to be undertaken at grass root level for testing the strength and weakness of these two legislations; and

- Publication of campaign materials like booklet, leaflet and poster etc. in Oriya, Telugu and Saura languages for wider dissemination of the two laws.

Evaluation and Valediction

The participants were requested to evaluate the workshop individually, and to write their precise comments on a small piece of paper. On the basis of the consolidation of all the evaluation notes, it was revealed that-

- The method and lessons of the Workshop have proved highly informative and enlightening;

- Because of an admixture of participants from diverse backgrounds, languages and literacy levels in a single platform, a lot of time was wasted away in translation of Oriya into Saura and from Saura to Oriya, and certain lessons had to be told repeatedly; and

- Time available was too short for covering two very important laws within 2 days.

Then the Valedictory session was held. Mr.Asim Mohapatra of IGSSS spoke a few words about his evaluation of the workshop. He told that contrary to the populist myth spread about the NREG Act, the Workshop could bring home certain congenital snags afflicting it, and the participants in stead of losing heart should take upon themselves the challenge of campaigning about it and ensuring the proper implementation of the Act at the ground level as far as possible. Mr. Chitta Behera the Resource Person observed that this Workshop proved very much refreshing for him firstly because of the presence and deliberation of a sizable number of Saura speaking participants, and secondly, because of the positive impact that his deliberations could generate among the participants despite the difficulty in communication caused due to his Sanskritised, coastal Oriya. He also regretted that due to time constraint the RTI Act which was just touched upon, couldn’t be dealt with elaborately, and occasion permitting he would love to address to it in future. Mr.Jagannath Sahu of SERVE, the Convener of the Workshop while thanking the participants, Resource Person and Sponsoring agency for making the Workshop a success, assured the participants to follow up the suggested action plan in all earnest through the aegis of Gajapati Vikash Manch and keep in mind to avoid the adverse lessons as revealed through evaluation, as and when any future programme of such kind would be organized. He also thanked all agencies and individuals who contributed in different ways for successful holding of this workshop.