These days, rural employment advertisements and awareness is covering every channel on the television sets of India. National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREGA) Programme is entering into the third phase of its operation, which involves covering the entire country.

When it was launched in February 2006, only 200 districts were covered in the first phase. The second phase explored 130 more districts in 2007. In its present phase it is been estimated that all the 600 districts in country will be covered. The scheme has firm supporters as well as vehement critics. The Act (NREGA) is an important step towards recognizing and ensuring work as a right of the people. It ensures providing assurance and security of employment to rural workers. The main aim of the programme is empowerment of laborers by making employment a right and the guarantee of employment an assurance so that the rural workers could demand employment.
Meanwhile, the critique of the NREGA by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) provides an opportunity for the critics to attack the NREGA that corruption was becoming endemic in it.

Knowledgeable sources in the Rural Employment Guaran¬tee Council, which monitors implementation of NREGA, point out that the CAG report focuses mainly on procedural lapses and also the constructive ways to address them. In this period, there has been an interesting debate on implementation of NREGA in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, after the Union Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh pointed out the shortcomings in its implementation in the two States. Though the Centre had selected only part of the state for NREGA implementation, the Government had launched it in the remaining disricts also at its own expense. Work, Time and Motion Study and revised the schedule of Rates accordingly.

There have been persistent allegations that contractors were being used in NREGA projects, though Part II of Schedule 1 of the Act prohibits engagement of a contractor for implementation of NREGA projects. Similarly, Para 6 of Schedule II of NREGA Act provides that priority shall be given to women in such a way that at least one third of the beneficiaries shall be women who have registered and requested for work under the Act. This is being violated.  In 39 districts where currently NREGA projects were being implemented, it is important to conduct physical inspection of NREGA works and ensure regular payment of money through banks. Unless there is transparency and public participation in ensure the success of the programmed, it would not achieve its objective.

Employment of contractors, mass fudging of muster rolls and institutional kickbacks still prevailed. Rural poor programmes are increasing; the focus is shifting to achievments and fighting shortcomings. And if the shortcomings are fought sincerely for the interest of poor people and not for fulfilling private political interests these programmes will surely put up a stepping stone for the uplift of people from backward areas.