About MGNREGA
The Mahatma Ghandi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is crafted to ensure employment opportunities for people in rural areas.
After receiving a job card, a household is entitled of 100 days employment annually, working on projects such as roadwork, pond digging, land development and construction. Any adult member is guaranteed to get casual work within 15 days or he/she is entitled to an unemployment allowance. A labourer covered by this act earns a basic wage of Rs. 90 a day minimum. The wage should be paid directly to the labourers weekly, but must be paid fortnightly.
MGNREGA in Koraput
Though MGNREGA is a good scheme in theory, it's rife with corruption and inefficiency, making it just another vehicle of exploitation of the rural poor. Every area of the scheme's operation has numerous examples showing how the beneficiaries are taken advantage of. From difficulty obtaining job cards to a lack of work to delayed or no payment to substandard workplace conditions, SPREAD helps the labourers to properly avail their benefits.
SPREAD's Activities
- SPREAD staff conduct numerous training to raise awareness among the villagers of their rights and the process by which to realize those rights.
- Groups of cheated labourers are connected with the appropriate officials to settle cases of delayed wage payment. If necessary, SPREAD is involved directly, but encourages community-led interface first.
- Applications for job cards and employment are filled out by SPREAD staff.
- Trainings are conducted among officials to teach them how to better manage the scheme.
- Social audits and public hearings are conducted to expose problems in the system.
