NREGA: Opportunities and Challenges - Diksha

NREGA: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGESWho does what?Village panchayat■■■■Prepare village planIdentify, design and implement 50 per cent worksSet up local institutions to facilitate implementationEvaluate and monitor implementationBlock panchayat■■■■Coordinate block level plansIdentify possible works based on village planDesign and implement works (not mandatory)MonitoringDistrict panchayat■■■■Prepare district annual planPrepare five-year perspective plan based on village plansImplement works (not mandatory)District level coordination of activitiesState government■■■Evolve regulationsSet up Employment Guarantee CouncilFacilitating resource flowCentral government■■■■Rural development ministry nodal ministryEnsure fund flowSet up employment guarantee councilIndependent monitoring and evaluationThe village panchayat is responsible for planning of works, registering households, issuing job cards andmonitoring implementation of the scheme at the village level. The Act has provison for appointment ofemployment guarantee assistant in each panchayat for this purpose. The intermediary panchayat isresponsible for planning at the block level, and for monitoring and supervision. This tier of panchayat isalso given works for implementation from the 50 per cent works that are not to be implemented by thevillage panchayat. District panchayat is responsible for finalising the districtplans for NREGA, which is a comprehensive plan of action for the scheme forthe district. District panchayat can also implement works from the 50 percent non-village panchayat pool.Evolved at the villageNREGA is primarily implemented through two planning documents at districtlevel called district perspective plan and annual plan. Though the districtpanchayat coordinates the planning process, the other two tiers ofpanchayat play crucial roles in the exercise. These two documents aredesigned as local five-year plans that take care of local needs. Based onthese plans the panchayats identify works (See box: Beneficial, if we plan).The annual plan is basically a shelf of works to be taken up under theschemes and must be completed by December . The works are selectedkeeping in mind its impact on local development. The district perspectiveplan is intended to facilitate advance planning and to provide a developmentperspective for the district. This plan is prepared based on the linkages ofassets to be created that will help in local development. This plan is usuallyfor five years and based on village level inputs from panchayat.Village panchayats are thenodal implementing bodiesfor the NREGA. Local bodieswill plan, design and executethe works to be taken up.This is a step towardsmaking this Act participatoryand empowering people atthe grassroots level13