Corruption is not unexpected when money is involved and the transaction is between officials who have the power and control over the money, and the poor unemployed laborers who would be willing to take only a share of whatever is due to him or her. It has been variously estimated that only about 25 percent of any relief money actually reaches the intended beneficiary. Politicians and bureaucrats steal the majority of funds. A question then crops in our mind: even if NREGS is not beset with corruption and fraud, is it the best mechanism? Since it is an income redistribute scheme, it must be ensured that production is sufficient so as to ensure more equitable distribution. Focus must be shifted to income generation rather than mere employment generation.
Sustaining the development is a tedious task and for that first and foremost primary education and health care needs to be taken care of and instead of just sitting and blaming the government for all its failures let us, the citizens come forward to perform our duties. If each one of us can take the initiative to educate even one person in our lifetime, friends, we can make a huge difference to the current depressing scenario.
The NREGS is outstanding in one respect. It guarantees money for work, not for free like every project till now did. Indians are used to getting things for free or subsidized and this perception needs to change.
To ensure that our hard earned money does not go down the drain into the politicians’ pockets and it is utilized in the proper direction, we need to be vigilant and ensure that certain measures are taken. A separate monitoring body must be set up along with members from local NGOs so that there is a constant check on the activities. Clear asset creation targets must be identified to avoid confusion regarding goals to be achieved. Establishment of a proper monitoring mechanism would be vital in controlling the conduction of planned activities. Proper planning is essential to ensure avoidance of wastage. Awareness to this program should be increased and advertising can be an effective medium in this regard.
At this stage, an example can throw some insight: A power company put up an 18 MW plant based on biomass produced from juliflora, a plant which literally grows in the wild. The villagers were enthused that someone was willing to pay them a decent amount for collecting shrubs and twigs that were in abundance in that area. The power company could produce much-needed, eco-friendly, Co2-neutral power at a very low cost and supply it to the grid. As a logical extension of the idea, if the power could be consumed locally (avoiding the T&D losses) and some food-processing or other rurally-relevant industry could flourish, you would have a winning formula of rural employment, power generation, rural industry and a genuine improvement in the lifestyle of the people, motivating them to stay put and avoid the migration to urban areas.
These are the models which we must showcase and build on. NREGS, if it can come up with complete package of change management, then can be a great leap for human resources development and knowledge revolution in India. Economic growth has benefited hundreds like us but the misery of unfortunate citizens is shameful.
Hence we must ensure proper implementation of these programs in our own small little ways. We should stop thinking that our small step will not have any significant value. It is high time that we wake up to the call of the moment because if we let this state of darkness continues; we endanger our own well being.
Written By: Preeti Baid, Kolkata
Sustaining the development is a tedious task and for that first and foremost primary education and health care needs to be taken care of and instead of just sitting and blaming the government for all its failures let us, the citizens come forward to perform our duties. If each one of us can take the initiative to educate even one person in our lifetime, friends, we can make a huge difference to the current depressing scenario.
The NREGS is outstanding in one respect. It guarantees money for work, not for free like every project till now did. Indians are used to getting things for free or subsidized and this perception needs to change.
To ensure that our hard earned money does not go down the drain into the politicians’ pockets and it is utilized in the proper direction, we need to be vigilant and ensure that certain measures are taken. A separate monitoring body must be set up along with members from local NGOs so that there is a constant check on the activities. Clear asset creation targets must be identified to avoid confusion regarding goals to be achieved. Establishment of a proper monitoring mechanism would be vital in controlling the conduction of planned activities. Proper planning is essential to ensure avoidance of wastage. Awareness to this program should be increased and advertising can be an effective medium in this regard.
At this stage, an example can throw some insight: A power company put up an 18 MW plant based on biomass produced from juliflora, a plant which literally grows in the wild. The villagers were enthused that someone was willing to pay them a decent amount for collecting shrubs and twigs that were in abundance in that area. The power company could produce much-needed, eco-friendly, Co2-neutral power at a very low cost and supply it to the grid. As a logical extension of the idea, if the power could be consumed locally (avoiding the T&D losses) and some food-processing or other rurally-relevant industry could flourish, you would have a winning formula of rural employment, power generation, rural industry and a genuine improvement in the lifestyle of the people, motivating them to stay put and avoid the migration to urban areas.
These are the models which we must showcase and build on. NREGS, if it can come up with complete package of change management, then can be a great leap for human resources development and knowledge revolution in India. Economic growth has benefited hundreds like us but the misery of unfortunate citizens is shameful.
Hence we must ensure proper implementation of these programs in our own small little ways. We should stop thinking that our small step will not have any significant value. It is high time that we wake up to the call of the moment because if we let this state of darkness continues; we endanger our own well being.
Written By: Preeti Baid, Kolkata
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