SOIL Report 2008 - ACCESS Development Services

Policy: Pathways to Sustainable LivelihoodsStudies highlight that both the number and quality of human resources deployed so far are completelyinadequate for shouldering the complex and manifold responsibilities of NREGA implementation(Ambasta, Shankar and Shah, 2008). If NREGA has to achieve its potential as a major measure forlivelihoods protection, the government will need to dedicate adequate and well qualified personnelrequired at each level for NREGA, and continuously build their capacities, as well as provide sufficientfinancial resources.The 11th Plan has taken steps in this direction, by prioritising:• Preparation of a Labour Budget, Annual Shelf of Projects, and Perspective Plan;• Vigilance and Transparency• Public Accountability, through use of the Right to Information Act• Financial Management, by establishing a non-lapsable Central Employment Guarantee Fund• Empowering Workers to claim entitlements under the Act, by enhancement of knowledge levels,development of literacy skills, organising workers, and enhancing social security levels of workersStudieshighlightthat boththe numberand qualityof humanresourcesdeployedso far arecompletelyinadequateforshoulderingthe complexandmanifoldresponsibilitiesofNREGAimplementation.• Linkages with other development programmes, such as National Rural Health Mission (NRHM),National Mission for Literacy and Elementary Education, and other livelihood and infrastructureinitiatives to ensure basic human entitlements to the workers and to strengthen the natural resourcebase of livelihoodsThe inclusion of NREGA workers under the cover of various life and health insurance schemes willalso raise their security thresholds. The invitation to open savings accounts of workers in banks andpost offices is a major step that will eliminate much of the leakages in the pipeline, and will encouragethrift and small savings among them. However, the decision to open one account for wife and husbandis retrograde, as it is likely to reduce access and control of the woman over her own wage earnings.Other social protection measures include social security through microinsurance, compensation foraccident at work, death and old age pensions for workers in the unorganised sectors, and welfare schemesfor other categories of those disadvantaged. In 2002, social security was offered through a number ofinstitutional structures to certain categories of the unorganised workers. These were under the insuranceindustry, welfare funds set up under the Acts of the central or the state governments. All these measureswere financed from resources outside the Central Plan budget. The 10th Plan envisaged the preparationof a comprehensive perspective plan to provide social security cover to all workers in agriculture, smallestablishments and in the informal sector. The central government drafted legislation for the welfare ofunorganised workers. The Plan also envisaged that the insurance industry would pursue the developmentof social security schemes for agricultural labour. It proposed that the present provision of the centralgovernment, of about Rs 1,000 crore every year, under the National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS),which includes old age pension for the poor, and some payment on death of the family breadwinner,would be tied up with an insurance company.The needs of these special interest groups have been considered and relevant solutions have beendesigned, with new approaches being tried in recent years. New schemes have been introduced, and newBills have been placed in Parliament, some have been enacted too. The performance of these policiesis, however, not yet fully assessed and a more concerted effort in outlining achievements will be neededby the middle of the 11th Plan to refine and consolidate many of these measures.Theperformanceof thesepolicies is,however,not yet fullyassessedand a moreconcertedeffort inoutliningachievementswill beneeded bythe middle ofthe 11th Planto refine andconsolidatemany of thesemeasures.71