Only enforcement of rights can control fraud.

Only enforcement of rights can control fraud:

Young India Project (YIP) has become convinced that by not enforcing their rights, the MGNREGA Job Card holders are allowing frauds to be committed by officials in the mandal implementing machinery.

In the MGNREGA Sameeksha presented on the 14^th of July by the Prime Minister, he pointed out that he was “surprised to hear from Jairam that concurrent evaluation processes are not in good shape”…and that he will “request Montek to apply his mind to making good the deficiencies…” The Government seems to have total faith in the top down evaluation/monitoring processes even when they are not producing results. Why can’t the Government also, alongside the top down approach, establish a grass roots bottom up evaluation/monitoring approach?

Mr. K. Raju, Joint Secretary, NAC, New Delhi, had a telephone talk with me on the 12^th of July after returning from his meeting with the PDs of Andhra Pradesh in Hyderabad. He told me that in his opinion “APNA NGOs should focus on MGNREGA given rights for the next six months,” to ensure that the SSS groups access their rights.

Because of the formation of APNA, a GO-NGO partnership, A.P. is the only state in this country today which can implement a bottom up evaluation/monitoring process with the help of the APNA NGOs.

On the basis of this YIP has submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Rural Development A.P., to appoint monitors nominated by APNA NGOs, in mandals where they are working to conduct rights monitoring and redressal meetings, every two months in each of their GPs/Habitations and submit reports to APNA. Enforcement of rights through these meetings will check fraud.

The time has come to try a bottom-up approach to monitor rights being accessed or not being accessed, in order to reduce frauds being committed by members of the Government implementation machinery.

After 6 years of Government top down monitoring approach, grass roots bottom-up approach to be operated by APNA NGOs at a far less cost deserves a chance. What is there to lose except frauds? 

NGOs should conduct Rights monitoring of MGNREGA every month.

On 29 May 2012,  NGOs requested the government of Andhra Pradesh, during APNA (Andhra Pradesh NGO's Alliance) monthly meeting, to appoint APNA/NGOs as monitors of MGNREGA Rights accessed or not honoured at G. P. levels. 


The monitoring is to be conducted every month in every G.P. where APNA/NGOs are working, and monthly reports to be submitted to APNA. 

The government requested 'Young India Project' and other NGOs to submit a concrete proposal. 'Young India Project' has submitted it's proposal.

Where are the Left Parties?

Our attempts to seek the co-operation of the left parties in taking up mass struggles on local issues and rights have met with failure, except for the Naxalites.

NAXALITES

The left group most willing to extend support to the non-violent rights based struggles we took up in the eighties and nineties in Anantapur and Chittoor districts in Andhra Pradesh were the Naxalites. They took up local issues like us but their strategy of struggle based on violence was not acceptable to us. Many of the supporters of the Naxalites accepted that the issues we were taking up were the same as theirs, but our differences lay in the method of struggle.

Most of the Naxalites were young, ill equipped, but full of commitment. All of them who continued in the movement were shot dead in so called encounters. They did not stand a chance against the State.

We were happy when YSR Reddy, agreed to discuss all the issues raised by the Naxalites. The meetings lasted 3 days, but the governments condition that the Naxalites surrender their arms prior to the agreement being accepted was rejected by the Naxal leaders. The leaders returned to the Nalamala forests and took up their arms again. We were very keen, that the Naxalites lay down their arms and organise rights based non violent mass struggles. We were disappointed.

From then on the State went after the leaders and dalams of the Naxals determined to wipe them out. Today we don’t have a Naxalite movement in Andhra any more. The losers are the poor peasants and agricultural labourers whose issues and rights were taken up by them.

My observations are that of an organiser and not that of a critic.

Narinder S. Bedi

                                       N G O ‘ s    R O L E    I N    M G N R E G A

 

1.     In February 1986 with the support of the late Mr. Smarajit Ray, 40 NGO’s of Andhra Pradesh started a campaign for the legislation of an employment guarantee Act. The campaign lasted 20 years. 

 

2.       We wanted an Act which would give rural workers the right to demand and receive work.

 

3.     Today we have that Act - it is called MGNREGA and it has given many rights to workers.

 

4.     The question I would like to raise and answer is what is our role in

MGNREGA ?

 

5.     We have 2 roles:

1.     To educate, mobilise and assist S S S groups at G P levels to demand their rights. This is a direct relationship between the S S S groups and the NGO’s, APNA is not involved in it.

2.     Our second role is to monitor every month, the success or failure of the 

S S S groups in getting their demands honoured by the Government in the GPs where we are working. In order to do this APNA must give us official permission and financial support to conduct S S S  groups meetings in every village of our GPs every month. The meetings will monitor the rights performance information updated and given to us every month. A rights performance report will be submitted to APNA every month.

 

6.           Will  the government give us the official responsibility of monitoring     MGNREGA rights accessed and rights denied every month in the GPs where we are working.

7.     Only if the government gives the NGO’s this responsibility will the NGO’s have a role in APNA with the purpose of fulfilling the Act.

"MGNREGA - Right to Work Day" Celebration

Thirty two MGNREGA rights mandal unions of Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh with a paid up membership of ten thousand celebrated "MGNREGA - Right to Work Day" on Feb. 19, 2012. It was originally scheduled for Feb. 2nd ( MGNREGA was inaugurated on Feb. 2, 2006 by the Prime Minister in Narpala mandal of Anantapur dist.) but on the request of Mr Subramaniam, Principal Secretary of Rural Development - Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, it was changed to Feb. 19th.

On the 19th of February around seven hundred members danced through the streets of Urvakonda and held their meeting in the presence of Mr. Murali, Director EGS, who represented the Principal Secretary.

The Union members made two demands:
1. The Govt. must honour all rights given to MGNREGA workers by the Act, nine rights were spelled out.
2. From now onwards the 2nd of February should be celebrated every year as "MGNREGA - Right to Work Day". It is expected that the Govt. of Andhra Pradesh will accept both demands.