In my last post, I raised
questions about the measures to reduce corruption in a program of immense scale
like MNREGA. This week, I want to shift the focus a little by trying to point
out where exactly one form of corruption is likely to occur. With it, I would
like to cite an innovative approach from an NGO that improved transparency and
efficiency in the program at a local level.
As clichéd as it may sound, information campaigns, when spiced up
with necessary ingredients, might serve as a powerful tool to raise public
awareness. The pros and cons of adopting participatory measures like awareness
and empowerment of local villagers, especially in ensuring proper delivery of
public service goods has been highlighted in many academic studies including Stiglitz
(2002), Bardan and
Mookherjee (2006), and the World Development
Report (2004) which emphasizes on “putting poor people at the center of service promotion”. Olken
(2007) uses two different forms of awareness drives in Indonesia in a
randomized setting to test the impact on “missing” expenditures in village
level road projects.
Nidan is
a NGO based in Bihar which aims to empower the poor through community based
participation interventions. One such initiative is the approach to leverage
NREGA through formation of a labor cooperative. For rural households, the
process of applying to unskilled labor jobs through MNREGA consists of many
bureaucratic hurdles. Even though the central government has assigned all
responsibilities of providing employment to the Gram Panchayat, the inefficient
authorities involved and their rent-seeking behavior prevents the benefits
from reaching concerned households. Most of the blockages are caused in issuing
of job cards, which every household seeking employment is entitled to, after
submitting their name, address and a photo.
In order to spread awareness about the specifics of MNREGA and to
help prevent irregularities of Gram Panchayat in non-issuance of job cards, Nidan
ran an awareness campaign across 115 villages and 24 Panchayats in Vaishali
district in Bihar, mostly through innovative means like wall painting, pamphlet
distribution and Natak Mandalis,
where members enacted messages related to MNREGA showing villagers potential
situations they could find themselves in while applying for the employment
scheme.
The labor cooperative formed to spread awareness has succeeded
along three different realms. First, it has managed to educate villagers about
the MNREGA process. Second, it has created awareness about the pitfalls of the
Gram Panchayat, thus alerting villagers about their rights to gain employment
within 15 days of application submission. If unable to gain employment
thereafter, they are entitled to unemployment allowance. The most important
success of the program, however, could come in the form of linking labor cooperatives to government sponsored skilled development platforms. In addition,
members of the cooperative have been able to gain access to Nidan’s
microfinance program, which has helped them set up micro enterprises. Nidan’s
own skill training initiative has provided hatchery, handloom, tailoring and
animal husbandry training to 360 members of the cooperative, helping to extend
the horizon of sustainable livelihoods beyond the 100 days of employment
promised by MNREGA.
In light of Amartya Sen’s “capabilities approach” to poverty, livelihood
activities provide opportunities to households that fulfill their basic
necessities, and allow them to leverage their skills to rise above the poverty
line. An initiative like the one carried out by Nidan, not only ensures
livelihoods promotion but also adds the critical “sustainable” prefix to it -
largely due to the transferable set of skills rural poor gain from such
initiatives. Studying carefully designed small interventions from private practitioners can help fill some of the gaps left in the implementation process of large scale national livelihood programs. For a country where more than 320 million still live below the poverty
line, making sure that government programs like MNREGA and NRLM reach as many beneficiaries as possible could be an
important step in helping the poor.
Samik Adhikari
Center for Microfinance at IFMR Research
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
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