Participation of rural workers in the mahatma gandhi national rural employment guarantee act in India

Abstract

Responsibility of Government of India to provide funds through an easy and convenient mechanism, In the present funding pattern GOI provides funds to the states to meet full cost of wages and upto 75% of the material cost of work including wages to skilled and semiskilled workers. (subject to material - wage ratio not exceeding 40:60); release of funds is made not to the state but directly to each district. This system involves need for detailed calculations and scrutiny of figures of expenditure on wages, material component and staff. It also entails heavy workload in having to keep district - wise account. This cumbersome procedure compels district officers to make frequent visits to Delhi to chase their proposals for release of funds. The whole process can be greatly simplified by having a new funding pattern in which central government meets full cost of employment wages and in addition funds equal to 50% of wages are given towards all other costs (including material component, staff etc). This simple pattern of funding would dispense the need for getting from states details of expenditure on material, staff etc. or having to calculate the wage-material ratio in REGS works, Also, the release of funds should be to the state and not directly to the district; on-account automatic release of funds to the states will be based on the Utilization Certificate of earlier released funds given by the finance department of the state. GOI will then be concerned with maintaining only state-wise accounts and not nearly 600 accounts for the districts.