By H H Mohrmen
Since the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) was a launched in 2005, people have criticized it. Some even concluded then that it is a non-starter and predicted that it would not do any good to the country. The Deputy Commissioner of West Jaintia hills Arumkumar Khembhavi was right when he remarked recently that even now there are a lot of people who criticize this program. There is also no denying the truth that the implementation of MNREGS has had its fare share of bad publicity but we cannot blame the scheme for the wrongdoings of a few villagers who misused the scheme for their vested interests and ulterior motive.
The truth is MNREGS has had its impact in many villages. And for many of these villages, had it not been for the Scheme, people would not have seen any development at all. It is also true that the impact of this program on the villages has not had good publicity too because of lack of space for development stories in the press or for dearth of rural reporting in the media here. Or perhaps as they say there are no takers for good stories because it is only bad news that sells. But it is only by seeing that one can believe that the villages which have been able to make the best use of the program have indeed been able to bring development and change in their respective villages.
In West Jaintia hills few villages have developed manifold since the Mahathma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) was implemented. But of these, Nongtalang Mission, Moosakhia and Shnongpdeng are the three villages which apart from having good footpaths, good drainage system or in other words, have been able to build assets for posterity, some interesting stories have also emerged. There were also other surprising developments in these villages which were rather not expected. I was taken by surprise when I visited Nongtalang recently and the village elder I talked to told me that they did not have to hire skilled masons or skilled cement labourers from outside any more. When I asked him why? He said that it is because now Nongtalang Mission which has made the best use of MNREGS scheme has produced good masons and skilled bricklayers who could cater to the needs of the entire Nongtalang village. This is another (rather) unexpected outcome of the implementation of MNREGS which in other ways has helped people hone their skills and made them skilled workers.
The successful implementation of MNREGS has empowered Moosakhia village to welcome the International Terra Madre’s international guests last year, because they have been able to bring change which they are proud of, in the village. And it has also helped the village become (perhaps) the first Open Defecation Free (ODF) village in West Jaintia hills. Add to that the fact that the village is also now one of the cleanest villages in the district and you have a success story. The story of Shnongpdeng also began with the villager’s pride of being able to keep the village and its surrounding clean which again is the outcome of having well-paved footpaths, good drainage and of course a beautiful environment. In fact it was Lasting Gadew the Secretary of the Dorbar Shnong Shnongpdeng who once said to me that if it is just for putting up footpaths, construction of playground and developing other assets in the village, we don’t really need MLAs or MDCs anymore. What he did not say is that the successful implementation of MNREGS by active Village Employment Committees (VECs) can bring enormous change to the village without any support from our political representatives.
But the question is whether MNREGS scheme is meant only for providing hundred days employment for the villagers and creating assets in the village? Till recently I was also of the opinion that the scheme is only meant for providing jobs for the villagers during the lean season as well as building assets for the village.
The one day interactive session and sharing of ideas for implementation of MNREGS on the theme ‘Breaking barriers, building bridges’ organized by the Deputy Commissioner’s office in collaboration with the office of the Project Director of DRDA West Jaintia hills has opened up our minds and made us aware that this scheme is not meant for construction of footpaths, playgrounds or water harvesting only. In the sessions different Block Development Officer (BDOs) from the districts in the Khasi and Jaintia hills region of the state shared their experiences and good practices with the audience present at the meeting which included community leaders and NGOs. The one new lesson that the audience learned is that the respective VECs can undertake a whole lot of activities with the MNREGS.
Peter Passah Block Development Officer Mylliem block informed that they have used the scheme even for creating livelihood opportunities for people in the villages which fall under that Block. They have been able to facilitate the building of about 1500 pig sties in the Block and later they even provided one week training on piggery or poultry as the case may be to the selected villagers. In his presentation Passah shared with the audience the new approach that his office has initiated with regard to selecting new projects. They asked the VECs to prioritize their needs and then the BDO’s office tries to see where they can fit or accommodate the village’s needs as per the criteria prescribed by the Ministry of Rural Development under the MNREGS. This is a brilliant idea, usually the approach was to suggest that the village EC selects project by looking at the prescribed list first and only projects which are as per the list were selected which is again a top down approach. But the new idea of selecting projects first and then see where they can be accommodated in the prescribed list is a bottoms- up approach. He said that they even used the scheme for building private toilets in the village. MNREGS can also used for planting of fruit trees to develop private orchards and help increase green cover in the village. These are a few of the innovative ideas shared in the meeting.
Passah is also of the opinion that wages should not be the driving force to determine the community’s participation in the activity, for the simple reason that they can get much higher wages elsewhere. But the most important reason that wages should not be the determining factor is because there will be less attachment to the work and there will not be a sense of community ownership of the Scheme. This is also akin to the traditional practice which already prevails in the community and which is that the of the community working together for common good. In many villages communities regularly organize community work for common good which is known as ‘ia treilang/trei-paidbah in Khasi and kreh-ïonglang in Pnar. Linking MNREGS as an extension of the customary community best practices of working for the common good (albeit at the same time earnings daily wage) is another brilliant idea shared in the session.
The one day conference at the Deputy Commissioner’s office West Jaintia hills was a very good initiative. Other BDOs present in the meeting agreed that they too had benefited from the sharing of ideas and best practices and hoped that they could replicate some of the ideas in their areas. The next important step is to disseminate this information to the public at large or in particular to the VECs which will select projects for implementation under MNREG scheme in their respective villages. Or better still similar kind of programs should be organized in many places and at regular intervals by inviting all stake holders to the meeting.
In the last budge
t the Central government has allotted considerable funds for rural development. Perhaps, it is in the best interests of the state that the VECs and other machineries for implementing the Scheme are strengthened to ensure maximum utilization of the funds. The government should make hay while the sun shines and ensure that the Scheme is successfully implemented in the entire state, because it is obvious that MNREGS can bring development in the villages which the state government with its funds constraints will not be able to do. This can also bring much change in the rural landscape. The state government should see that the respective officers ensure that the villages make the best use of the Scheme that we can develop our villages as well as create livelihood opportunities for the rural folks.