An important dimension of prospective research in NREGA is analysis of the payment method through with NREGA wages have been disbursed. In early 2008, amidst concerns that delivery of NREGA wages via Gram Panchayats and other less formal methods was leading to corruption in the scheme, the Ministry of Rural Development mandated that all NREGA wages be delivered through either a bank account or post office account. In the table below, we display the progress of each state in achieving this objective set down by the central government.
(click on the graphs to see expanded versions)
Despite the common perception that most NREGA wages are currently being routed through bank accounts, the graphs below show that progress towards this goal has been shoddy at best.
(click on the graphs to see expanded versions)
Overall, only 43% of the total payments have been disbursed through the sources other than bank and post-offices. Interestingly, in many cases compliance of states in routing NREGA wages via formal accounts seems to bear little relation to the levels of financial inclusion of the state: for example, UP in which a low share of the population holds a bank account has performed relatively well on this metric while states such as Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, with much high rates of existing financial inclusion, have performed abysmally.
Note: Source for all data- http://nrega.nic.in : Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India (official website)
12 comments:
Interesting post Deepak. I wonder as someone who knows very little about NREGA, despite the Ministry's mandate, what kinds of consequences, if any, there are for states who don't shift the channels of disbursing wages? Are there carrots and/or sticks?
Thanks a lot for collecting this data! This is an oft neglected but extremely important subject. Too often researchers and policymakers assume that the physical delivery of cash to beneficiaries of government programs is a trivial and easy thing to accomplish. As your analysis shows, it's anything but trivial.
I am very impressed that all this data is available on one website
Hi alex. Sorry for late reply (have just came back from field). There are 2 issues as of now, regarding shifting the channels to deliver payments:
1). "Cash in Hand Syndrome" (for policy makers). Delivering payments by cash will always open gates for corruption. Alternative like "Post Office" cuts down on corruption, are easily accessible to wage seekers and also promote their finaicial inclusion. There have been instances where researchers have found that people specially women find it hard to hide money from their from other greedy family members and save.
2). For State: Disbursing payments through a formalized channel facilitates auditing. I am not quite sure how will it affect incentives for state, but it may signal their efficiency to centre and they might receive good central assistance in terms of grants and other such schemes.
2).
Is there any particular reason why Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and West Bengal are doing so badly in this regard? in particular, TN
Hi suvojit.
I have not yet tried to explore other states but as of now my answer would be "lack of political willingness", but i know this would not answer your question perfectly. It required deep research and data analysis which can be compared with leading states like AP. But data availability for these states like Maharashtra, TN and WB is still a big question. It will be really a pain to get all relevant data and put down analysis (For AP too it was pain but for others it would be manyfold). At the maximum what one can do right now is to look at some government reports/speeches etc of these states and try to gauage their willingness.
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Thank you Deepak for the facts and figures.There are not only lapses in the mode of payment but also in the amount.Recently, I visited some villages in Rajasthan(for some other study) and found that some workers were getting less than Rs.60 unlike the claimed rate of Rs.100(w.e.f.1.3.2008).If you don't mind Deepak,will you let me know your area of study.
Hi m.d
i did it in AP. and what u are mentioning about less than 100 rupees a day is prevelant everywhere. actually it is not that there is curoption for sure but in wage payments, they are also allotted in terms of the hours worked, the task completion by group and than accirdingly the wages are provided. In AP for example tasks are given to a group of 15-25 persons and they are given a stipulated time to complete it, if they can they are given 100 rupees each but if they delay it, all the wages are accordinglt curtailed. Also people always do not work consistently, 8 hours each day for 7 days, so accordingly the wages are slashed. Also wage rates depend on season as well, in extreme hot months, they payment are as high as 125 rupees and in somewhat mil;d season, they may be 80-100. If you are still in field i would suggest you to talk to mates (worksite supervisor) and ask all these questions.
Hi Deepak,
Thanks for the information.The amount they are getting is less than Rs.60 not Rs.100.I am back from the field but will try to find out soon.
hi deepak..
can u suggest some areas of NREGS where a social impact assessment will be useful. (am currently working with NREGS as a CAPART young professional)
there are many interesting areas where a social impact assessment can be performed; some of them which i can suggest quickly are measuring income stability by NREGA implementation, migration, women empowerment (though the measurement is a tricky issue !!). You might find the studies by CMF useful to help you develop ideas
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