The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), a government initiative aimed at improving the lives of India’s rural poor by providing a minimum of 100 days of employment, has failed to achieve its fundamental objective in Mokokchung, according to a research paper titled “Implementation of MGNREGS in Mokokchung District Nagaland: Issues and Challenges.” Authored by Dr Moameren Pongen, Assistant Professor at St. Joseph University, the paper, published in the International Journal of Political Science and Governance, (2020) sheds light on the program’s persistent shortcomings.
‘We should not make
MNREGA scheme a failure
because of corruption of few people’
Speaking to Mokokchung Times, Dr Pongen expressed deep concern over the continued migration of villagers to urban areas in Nagaland, attributing it to a lack of employment opportunities within the villages themselves. “I can see that the villagers migrate to town areas and are not living a very good life. Many are struggling and have a lack of dignity or are worried about their future,” he stated, underscoring the adverse consequences of insufficient job prospects in rural communities.
Dr Pongen viewed that MNREGA is one of the best policies with lots of potential to transform Naga villages because it is a scheme that emphasizes on infrastructure building. However, he said, the program failed to achieve its main objectives of strengthening the economic base of the poorer sections of the society because of corrupt practices, administrative lapses, technical issues, denial of individual rights and lack of accountability and transparency among many others.
He expressed how most beneficiaries in the village do not possess MNREGA Job Cards but are kept by the village council leading to misuse of funds at the expense of the beneficiaries. He also pointed out cases where even government employees are registered as beneficiaries under MGNREGA which is clearly against the guidelines of the scheme.
“Villagers are putting names which they are not supposed to put in order to get more funds. That is corruption at the village level. But such manipulation is done or encouraged by some of the government officials in order to receive a fair share of funds from the central government,” he said.
“There are instances where, on the pretext of the existence of the bogus job cards, some government officials pressurize the village councils to ignore the anomalies found over the misuse of funds,” he said. However, he added that such illicit practices, while benefiting a few, stifle the voice of the villagers against corruption.
Dr Pongen highlighted an unintended consequence of MNREGA, wherein the creation of village assets, such as roads, retaining walls, dustbins, and concrete steps, are done at the expense of the poorer section. Acknowledging that Nagas have a system where villagers sacrifice everything for their village, Dr Pongen suggested that such practices have been detrimental for MNREGA.
“Villagers from well-off backgrounds are ready to sacrifice the MNREGA money for the development of the village but in the first place those well-off don’t deserve the program. It is for that section of the society for whom they will be able to pay their children’s school fees from the MNREGA money,” he said.
Recounting a specific case, he narrated how the villagers in one village wanted the MNREGA money to pay off their children’s school fee but the council did not release it. “Most villagers are okay sacrificing their share for overall village development but the poorer sections get affected the most. The main purpose of MNREGA is to uplift the economic status of the poor which is not happening,” he added.
He also observed that, under MNREGA, large machinery is prohibited, yet some villages continue to use them, resulting in reduced income for the poor.
Additionally, he emphasized that a lack of accountability and transparency is a significant factor contributing to implementation failures. Dr Pongener suggested that addressing corruption among high-ranking government officials is the key to progress. Except for the card manipulation, he stated that corruption at the village level is relatively low, with the majority of corrupt practices occurring among top government officials.
“It is high time we pinpoint those government officials under the RD department because we are ruining our villages due to lack of implementation and dragging the development of our state back to a few years. We should not make MNREGA scheme a failure because of the corruption of few people,” he stated.
He pointed out how despite numerous projects being documented on paper, nothing is happening in reality. “What I have seen is that with the coming of geotags and Aadhar linkages by the central government, there has been some check on corruption. So, if the central government put some pressure on some cases, there might be some changes,” he said.
Highlighting the importance of raising awareness about government schemes within the village, Dr Pongen expressed doubt about the effectiveness of ‘English-language’ wall writings for rural residents. He emphasized that a more targeted and localized approach is necessary to ensure the information reaches the intended audience.
Regarding the dissemination of awareness, he believed that both government officials and the civil society have significant roles to play, particularly in Nagaland. In conclusion, he emphasized the need for people to be vocal about their rights to address the corrupt practices.