Gram Panchayats to decide on work priority under MGNREGA

The Centre on Tuesday unveiled the expanded version of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, allowing over 30 new permissible works, as productivity-enhancing activity. The gram panchayats alone have been empowered to decide on the priority of work to be taken up.

Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh, who tabled in Parliament a copy of the new notification, and Planning Commission member Mihir Shah told reporters that the purpose was to give supremacy to meet the exigencies of the States, and the livelihood needs of the people in the rural areas.

Interestingly enough, the list of works negates the emphasis on embankments as a method to combat floods, and advocates the need to rely on traditional methods which allow the water to flow into a depression, and provide for drainage of water from the fields.

Mr. Shah emphasised that the 12{+t}{+h}Plan will provide a major shift in this regard.

The gram panchayats alone will have the power to take up any work in their jurisdiction, on the basis of the decision arrived at in the gram sabhas. It will be up to the gram panchayats to decide which work will be taken up, irrespective of the priority that the MGNREGA schedule might list.Moreover, the 60:40 ratio of spending on labour and material has been made mandatory at the gram panchayat level.