New Delhi: Urging state governments not to 'fail the poor', Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said the country had still to realise the 'full potential' of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) whose implementation had been 'uneven across states'.
"We still have miles to go before we achieve the full potential of this unique legislation in annals of recent history. The performance of the programme, as I have mentioned, has been uneven across states. Some states have shown good results. Some are lagging behind," Manmohan Singh said while addressing a conference of state rural development and panchayati raj ministeRs
"I urge them to catch up. We cannot fail the poor of our country particularly at a time when resources are available to provide gainful livelihood security for at least 100 days to the rural poor."
Referring to the increased allocation of Rs 390 billion to NREGA this year, he said, "We have now to ensure that our people get the best value for every rupee spent on their behalf. Effective oversight of these programmes is therefore, extremely important."
The prime minister pointed out that the monsoon had revived in many parts, auguring well for the kharif crop and bringing cheer to large number of farmers. But he also warned against complacency.
"We have to recognise that most areas of the country will probably still have deficient rainfall and therefore we have to redouble our efforts to mitigate rural distress arising from the after effects of drought."
Delving on the benefits of NREGA, Manmohan Singh said employment was provided to nearly 45 million households in 2008-09.
"Of those employed, nearly 50 per cent were women and over 55 per cent comprised of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes demonstrating the self-targeting nature of the programme," he said.
NREGA, he pointed out, was making a contribution to financial inclusion and also to the increased bargaining power of agricultural labour.
"State governments are being encouraged to make wage payments under the programme through banks and post office accounts. Nearly 78 million such accounts have been opened," he said.
"The bargaining power of agricultural labour has increased as a result of the launching of the NREGA. No longer are they prepared to settle for less than the notified wage. The average notified wage under NREGA has itself risen from Rs 65 per day in 2006-07 to Rs 87 in 2009-10. We have further committed ourselves to providing a real wage rate of Rs 100 under NREGA."
Manmohan Singh said the government proposed to establish the institution of an ombudsman in every district for effective grievance redressal under NREGA.
"We should also mobilise public opinion and use social audits to seek the enforcement of rights and entitlements created through this landmark legislation," he said.
The prime minister added that the government had taken a major decision to restructure and redesign the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana and convert it into the National Rural Livelihoods Mission.
"This Mission will use a multi-pronged strategy for poverty reduction in a time bound manner by providing sustainable livelihood through various means to rural population below the poverty line."
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