Lok Sabha Question No. 3879 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-21
Subject: Employment to Rural Youth of SC/ST/EWS
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Ramesh Chandra Majhi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3879

ANSWERED ON 21/12/2021

## EMPLOYMENT TO RURAL YOUTH OF SC/ST/EWS

## 3879.   SHRI. RAMESH CHANDRA MAJHI:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the rural youth of Scheduled Tribes/Scheduled Castes/Economically Weaker Sections  are  provided  employment  as  guaranteed  under  the  employment  generation schemes in the State of Odisha;
- (b) if so, the details thereof during each of the last five years;
- (c) the amount of funds provided by the Government under the said schemes during the said period;
- (d) whether the Government has assessed implementation of the said schemes and if so, the details of the said assessments; and
- (e) the further steps taken/being taken by the Government for effective implementation of said the schemes in the country particularly in the State of Odisha?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SADHVI NIRANJAN JYOTI)

(a)  &  (b):   Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Scheme  (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS) is a demand driven wage employment programme which provide for the enhancement  of  livelihood  security  of  the  households  in  rural  areas  of  the  country  by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. It provides livelihood security i.e., fall back option for livelihood for the rural households when no better employment opportunity is available. The Scheme is available in the State of Odisha also.

The details of total number of households and SC/ST households who have turned up at the worksites and thus availed employment in the State of Odisha in last five financial years 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21 is given below:

(Figure in lakh)

| Financial Year                                      |   2016-17 |   2017-18 |   2018-19 |   2019-20 |   2020-21 |
|-----------------------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Number of household availed employment in Odisha    |     20.31 |     23.07 |     21.48 |     23.25 |     37.49 |
| Number of SC household availed employment in Odisha |      3.45 |      3.99 |      3.59 |      3.69 |      5.42 |
| Number of ST household availed employment in Odisha |      7.08 |      7.75 |      7.11 |      8.09 |     11.93 |

(c):  The details of fund released to State of Odisha under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS in last five financial years 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21 is given below:

| Financial Year               | 2016-17 2017-18   |   2018-19 |   2019-20 |   2020-21 |
|------------------------------|-------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Fund released (Rs. in crore) | 1895.27 2198.35   |   2218.21 |   2488.22 |    5409.5 |

(d):     Government has made assessment of implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS through third party study sponsored by NITI Aayog in 2020. Some of the key findings are as below:

- i. High  relevance  based  on  ability  to  respond  to  shocks  and  security  provided  by  the guarantee of 100 days;
- ii. Significant  improvement  in  complying  with  15  day  mandate  for  the  payment  of wages;
- iii. Social Audits under MGNREGS have been institutionalised and becoming a regular feature in villages;
- iv. MGNREGS has had a positive impact on the standard of living of households and improvements in production from agriculture;
- v. Convergence of MGNREGS across different sub -sectors enhances the sustainability of works and benefits;
- vi. Share of SC, ST and Women in employment has been more than their proportion in the total rural population;
- vii. Significant  scope  for  improvement  in  complying  with  deliver  y  of  entitlements  to wage seekers and at work sites;
- viii. Low level of awareness regarding scheme provisions such as travel and unemployment allowance.
9. (e):       The responsibility of implementation of Mahatma Gandhi NREGS is vested with the Government  of  States/UTs.  The  Ministry  has  a  comprehensive  system  of  monitoring  and review  mechanism  for  Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS.  Some  of  the  important  elements  of  the above framework are listed below:
- i. The Ministry regularly reviews the performance of the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi NREGS in States/UTs through various fora viz., Mid-Term Review, Labour Budget meetings,  Labour Budget Revision meetings, Programme Review meetings. Central Employment Guarantee Council and State Employment Guarantee Councils periodically monitor implementation of the programme.
- ii. National  Level  Monitors,  Common  Review  Missions  and  Officers  of  the  Ministry visit States/UTs at regular interval to review implementation of the programme. After the field visits,  the  findings/shortcomings and recommendations are shared with the States/UTs for appropriate action at their end.
- iii. Auditing  Standards  for  Social  Audit  have  been  issued  and  States/UTs  have  been advised  to  establish  independent  Social  Audit  Units,  conduct  Social  Audit  as  per Audit of Scheme Rules, 2011 and training of village resource persons for conducting Social Audit etc. Internal Audit Teams of the Department also conduct regular audit.
- iv. Steps  have  been  taken  to  strengthen  transparency  and  accountability  which  include geo-tagging  of  assets,  Direct  Benefit  Transfer  (DBT),  National  electronic  Fund Management System (NeFMS), Aadhar Based Payment System (ABPS), Software for Estimate Calculation using rural rates for Employment (SECURE) and appointment of Ombudsperson in every district of States/UTs.
- v. Steps have been taken for establishment of State Technical Cell at various level for qualitative monitoring and supervision of works under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS.
- vi. In  order  to  ensure  higher  level  of  monitoring  and  oversight,  National  Mobile Monitoring  System  and  Area  Officer  App  have  been  introduced.  In  the  former, attendance  of  workers  on  a  particular  work,  where  more  than  20  workers  are employed  is  taken  daily  along  with  a  geo-tagged  &  time  stamped  photograph  of theirs.  The  latter  has  been  designed  to  ensure  that  field  officials  do  conduct inspections  in  the  requisite  numbers  and  look  into  all  the  relevant  aspects  of  the scheme.
- vii. In addition Central and State Employment Guarantee Councils, District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committees (DISHA) as also PRIs do also take up the monitoring and oversight of the Programme.

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