Is it Hypocrisy or criticism?????
Many criticisms have been levelled at the programme, which has been argued to be no more effective than other poverty reduction programs in India. The program is beset with controversy about corrupt officials, deficit financing as the source of funds for the program, poor implementation, and unintended destructive effect on poverty. A 2008 report claimed the state of
Rajasthan as an exception wherein the rural population was well informed of their rights and about half of the population had gained an income from the entitlement program.[SUP]
[12][/SUP] However, a 2011 WSJ report claims that the program has been a failure. Even in Rajasthan, despite years of spending and the creation of government mandated unskilled rural work, no major roads have been built, no new homes, schools or hospitals or any infrastructure to speak of has resulted from the program.[SUP]
[4][/SUP]
At national level, a key criticism is corruption. Workers hired under the MGNREGA program say they are frequently not paid in full or forced to pay bribes to get jobs, and aren't learning any new skills that could improve their long-term prospects and break the cycle of poverty. There are also claims of fictitious laborers and job cards by corrupt officials causing so called
leakage in program spending.[SUP]
[4][/SUP][SUP]
[13][/SUP]
Another important criticism is the poor quality of public works schemes' completed product. In a February 2012 interview, Jairam Ramesh, the Minister of Rural Development for the central government of India, admitted that the roads and irrigation canals built by unskilled labor under this program are of very poor quality and wash away with any significant rains. Villagers simply dig new irrigation pits every time one is washed away in the monsoons. The completed works do not add to the desperately needed rural infrastructure.[SUP]
[13][/SUP][SUP]
[5][/SUP]
Another criticism is financial. The MGNREGA programme spent US$ 9 billion in the 2011 fiscal year according to official data. Economists have raised some concerns about the sustainability of this subsidy scheme – India’s fiscal deficit is expected to reach 5.6 per cent of GDP this year, compared with 5.1 per cent last year. The MGNREGA program has been found to distort labor markets and has helped — along with fuel and fertilizer subsidies — to balloon India's federal fiscal deficit.[SUP]
[14][/SUP][SUP]
[15][/SUP]
Yet another criticism is the unintended effect of MGNREGA in terms of skill growth. A review published by India in September 2011 conceded that the lack of skilled technicians at almost every site under MGNREGA program, along with rules banning the use of machinery or contractors (labour is usually by shovel). Such bureaucratic regulations mean that the labourers learn no new skill, and that the ponds, roads, drains, dams and other assets built with manual labour are often of wretched quality. The idea behind MGNREGA program is to create as many jobs as possible for unskilled workers. But in practice, say critics, it means no one learns new skills, only basic projects get completed and the poor stay poor — dependent on government checks.[SUP]
[4][/SUP][SUP]
[5][/SUP]
"We work because there's high unemployment here and the land is less fertile." But he questioned the point, saying "There's no meaning to it. Instead of this they should build proper roads."— Abdul Jameel Khan, a farmer employed by India's MGNREGA entitlement program quoted in a 2011 article by The Wall Street Journal[SUP]
[4][/SUP]
A multi-crore fraud has also been suspected where many people who have been issued the NREGA card are either employed with other Government Jobs or are not even aware that they have a Job Card. The productivity of laborers involved under NREGA is considered to be lower because of the fact that laborers consider it as a better alternative to working under major projects. There is criticism from construction companies that NREGA has affected the availability of labor as laborers prefer to working under NREGA to working under construction projects. [SUP]
[16][/SUP]
It is also widely criticized that NREGA has contributed to farm labour shortage. In July 2011, the government has advised the states to suspend the NREGA programme during peak farming periods.[SUP]
[17][/SUP]
The National Advisory Committee(NAC) advocated the government for NREGA wages linkage with statutory minimum wages which is under Minimum wages act as NREGA workers get only Rs100 per day.[SUP]
[[/SUP]