MNREGA Training @HARIT PRAYAS JCSS-Jhansi

Venue: Villages Level training

Organizer: Jhansi Catholic Seva Samaj

Introduction:

MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) is very crucial for ensuring food security and preventing distress migration from rural India. MNREGA guarantees 100 days job for unskilled rural workers. This Act is life line for millions of landless community members and for small and marginalized farmers. As per the provision of MNREGA in Uttar Pradesh one can get INR 12,000/- annually.

Harit Prayas Project:

The output 2(as per PMF and Log frame) of the Harit Prayas Project deals with Entitlement. MNREGA is the major component of output 2. As per the target 681 HHs fall under the category of Entitlement i.e. output 2.

With an aim to increase the livelihood of the landless workers/marginalized farmers, the project focuses on the holistic training of the target community members on MNRGEA.

It is important for the community members have information regarding how to get the job card prepared? How to demand job under MNREGA? How to get the wages or compensation if the job is not provided after written application within stipulated time period? With whom to complain, if there are any grievances regarding MNREGA?

Abstract/summary:

The MNREGA training has been conducted at the village level. March being the harvesting season for Rabi crop, the Harit Prayas team members found it difficult to find people for the training. So the strategy adopted for this training was that the cluster coordinators talked to the community members and asked the timing for village level training. It ensured the availability of community members for the training.

In the village Guawali the training was conducted at 7.00 AM. For this team members had to leave for the village at 6.00 AM from their home. In the village Khandi the team reached at 8.30 AM and in another village Dagaria the team conducted training in the evening from 5.30 onwards. This shows that how the team cope up with harvesting season and ensured availability of community members for the training.

A total number of 155 people have been trained as against the target of 100 fixed in the PMF (MoV is Training Register). Participation of women in village Chamraua, Dagaria was encouraging for the Hart Prayas team members. 29 women received the MNREGA training (source: Training Register).

Modus Operandi:

·         Gathering at the venue on the fixed time.

·         Introduction of the Project, Project Staffs and the Organization

·         Purpose of the MNREGA Training

·         Details of the provisions of MNREGA and its benefits

·         Discussion on the challenges faced in MNREGA

·         Distribution of application forms for Job Card and Demand of work to the community members

·         Queries and Questions from the community members

·         Vote of thanks by the community member/staff

Output:

·         155 MNREGA workers learnt the process of getting Job Card

·         155 MNREGA workers learnt the process of demanding job through written application

·         155 workers learnt about the provisions of MNREGA

·         155 workers learnt about the grievance redressal mechanism for MNREGA

Observation and Learning by the team Harit Prayas:

·         Awareness generation regarding to MNREGA and its provision and process, is still the first and foremost important step in order to ensure the entitlement for the target community.

·         The community members have shown keen interest in learning about MNREGA (all aspects).

·         In some of the villages the community members have not possession of their job cards. The local powerful village head (pradhans) have kept the job cards in their possession. The community members are scared and they lack courage to ask for their job card. But in majority of target villages people have their job cards in their possession.

·         Implementation of MNREGA is challenging in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh. Apart from this we have observed that there are some lacunas in the MNREGA Act also, due to which the vested interest misuse the clauses and the benefit do not reach to the workers.

·         The MNREGA workers belong to unorganized sector. It a big challenges to organize the unorganized sector workers.

Expected outcome:

·         Well informed community members will submit written application for job under MNREGA (Xerox copy of the application format has been distributed during village level training).

·         All 155 community members, who received training, will get their due entitlement under MNREGA.

The way forward:

·         The follow up of this training is very important. The cluster coordinators, the field coordinator and the project manager will go for follow up of this training as per their role chart. So that the outcome of this training could be measured and documented.