According to a latest state government report on the implementation of the scheme that guarantees at least 100 workdays every year to unemployed rural population, Bengal has failed to match even its last year’s performance.

Most of the scheme’s parameters — from the amount of money utilised to the total number of person days generated — have failed to meet the last year’s figures. But the state government doesn’t admit to the scheme’s poor implementation and blames the shortfall on “elections and floods”.

The report, which was placed in the Assembly earlier this week by Panchayat and Rural Development Department, states: “The expenditure incurred (for NREGA implementation) in 2008-09 was Rs 94,038.48 lakh as compared to Rs 96,798.47 lakhs that was spent on the scheme in 2007-08.” The average expenditure as percentage of the available funds also dropped to 69.92 per cent from last year’s 74.70 per cent — nearly 5 per cent less.

The money spent on the scheme per gram panchayat ¿ an important parameter that helps in assessing the effectiveness of the scheme — has dropped by nearly ten percent, from 29.60 lakh to 26.86 lakh. Apart from this, the total number of person days generated in lakh (the number of people out of one lakh who were employed) has reduced to 786.62 days from last year’s 959.77.

The parameter where the state has slightly improved in the past few years is the number of average workdays per household — from 25 days in 2006-07 to 26 days in 2008-09.

In terms of number of households provided with the employment, the state ranked 7th in the country with 30.26 lakh and on the parameter of person days generated, the state ranked 8th — below Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh.

The districts which figure at the bottom of the list are Howrah, South-24 Parganas and Malda. The report, however, tries to justify the poor figures of the scheme in the three districts by saying “the demand for registration for the scheme is low in these districts and less than 60 percent of the rural households in Howrah North 24-Parganas, Hooghly and South-24 Parganas have got themselves registered.”

Principal Secretary of Panchayat and Rural Development Department said there were not many people in these districts who required jobs under the NREGA.

The report blames the elections for affecting the implementation of NREGA as it had to shift the administrative machinery for conducting the polls. It also says that floods and prolonged monsoon hampered the government’s effort to provide jobs to the rural households.

Employing rural population
how Bengal ranks
7 in households employed (30.26 lakh)
Rajasthan tops the list with 63.73 lakh
8 in person days generated in lakh (786.62)
Rajasthan tops the list with 4,829.55.
Percentage of funds utilised: 69
Money spent per gram panchayat: 26.86 lakh
Average workdays per household: 26 days
Best performing districts: Burdwan, Jalpaiguri and
Bankura Worst performing districts: Howrah, South-24 Parganas and Malda

State hikes daily wage under NREGS
The West Bengal government today hiked the daily wages of workers under National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme from Rs 81 to Rs 100, bringing it on par with the Centre.