Parliament’s recent approval of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is an overdue progressive step taken by India to address the vulnerabilities of the country’s poor majority. Nothing can be more humiliating for adults than chronic unemployment and not being able to put food on the table for family and children. While workers in the organised sector have been able to wrest some benefits for 10 percent of the national labour force, the fear of persistent unemployment and hunger haunts hundreds of millions in the huge unorganised sector of the Indian economy. By introducing the Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS), the government has committed itself to purposeful employment creation, providing at least a minimal degree of financial support to them.

For one adult member per family to receive the minimum wage for a maximum of 100 days per year may not add up to much money. But more than the income, the support offers poor families minimal paid employment and saves them the humiliation and suffering associated with prolonged joblessness. From a human rights perspective, coverage provided by EGS must be based on need. And such protection against unemployment which the Act provides must be available to all those who seek it.

Given widespread confusion about the nature and intent of NREGA, a few clarifications are in order. First, government should plan for progressive winding down of EGS over a ten-year period, not for its expansion. This can happen only if intensive efforts are made to generate more jobs and employment within the economy. And the good news is that new job creation initiatives are being promoted by the Union government.

For instance, the “new deal” for farmers announced by the UPA government promises a substantial increase in the flow of agricultural credit, creation of new investment opportunities, and introduction of research and training facilities in the rural hinterland. The Centre’s Bharat Nirman programme intends boosting employment through development of basic infrastructure facilities, irrigating 10 million hectares of unirrigated land, providing road connectivity to all villages with a population of 1,000-plus, universalising access to safe drinking water, and ensuring that every village has electricity and at least one telephone connection.

Second, EGS must be complemented by a package of pro-poor interventions which address the issue of unequal opportunities. The government has accorded top priority to improve access to elementary education and provision of healthcare, safe drinking water and sanitation.

Third, prospects for successful implementation of EGS are bright. Contemporary India enjoys a strong and committed political leadership backed by impressive economic competency. Economic conditions have never been more favourable and prospects of generating additional resources remain high as improvements in the tax-to-GDP ratio go hand-in-hand with greater tax compliance and higher economic growth.

Fourth, the indications are that public accountability and the capacity to implement EGS can get only better. The power and administrative competence of village panchayats is improving, and opportunities for people’s participation in local governance are expanding. Infusion of improved technology and better use of e-governance are being harnessed to improve public communications, monitoring and accountability. The Right to Information Act can be used effectively to ensure transparency.

Based on historical precedent, there is widespread concern about the possibility of waste, leakage and corruption destroying the EGS. While this is a genuine concern, it cannot be advanced as an argument for not introducing this pro-poor national programme. The appropriate response is urgent introduction of more transparent systems of accountability.

This is the vital necessity. Proper management control systems are desperately needed. Indeed, one of the governments’ programme management goals should be to progressively eliminate corruption and wastage within a specified time frame, not just in EGS but in every other pro-poor programme. Sustained public pressure and vigilance supported by media, NGOs and civil society, is the prerequisite of good governance.

Finally, it is important to recognise that the driving force of NREGA and EGS is assuring the millions of poor a life of dignity. This is an opportunity to purposefully address the persistent problem of hunger and human poverty confronting millions of Indians- a time to acknowledge that only by intensifying efforts to end widespread human deprivations can India stand tall in the comity of nations. 

Unlike most developing countries, India has the managerial, intellectual and economic capability as well as accumulated knowledge to make EGS a success. This is the time to generate a shared confidence that as a nation, with government, NGOs and people working together, India can set an example in creating purposeful employment on a mass scale in the unorganised sector of the economy- an example which other human resources rich countries can emulate.

(A. K. Shiva Kumar is a Delhi-based advisor to Unicef and visiting professor at Harvard University)

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