One step forward, two steps back

The Hindu editorial rejects the Govt's Lokpal Bill

Hopelessly ineffectual and constitutionally suspect, the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011 is nothing less than a betrayal of national trust. It is inexcusable that a Bill, substantially weaker than the August 2011 version that was forced to be withdrawn on the widespread belief that it would be fortified in key areas, has been tabled in the Lok Sabha. The whole purpose of the exercise is supposed to be the creation of a strong, effective, and credible mechanism to go after corruption, especially political corruption, which has assumed monstrous proportions in India. The key provisions of the new Bill relating to the selection of the nine-member Lokpal, its anti-corruption functions and powers, and administrative control over India's premier criminal investigation agency mock that purpose.

In the first place, Section 4 of the Bill, which provides for a five-member Selection Committee to choose the chairman and eight other members of the Lokpal, gives the government political control over this process. Secondly, the separation of the power to enquire, investigate, and prosecute set out in the Bill is much worse than the scheme contained in the earlier Lokpal Bill, Section 20 of which gave the Lokpal its own investigation wing. In allowing the Lokpal only an Inquiry Wing headed by a Director of Inquiry “for the purpose of conducting preliminary inquiry into any offence alleged to have been committed by a public servant punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988” and denying it its own investigation wing, the new Bill neuters the anti-corruption watchdog. Allowing the Lokpal “a Prosecution Wing headed by the Director of Prosecution for the purpose of prosecution of public servants in relation to any complaint by the Lokpal under this Act” may look like a step forward. But this cannot possibly make up for the failure to provide for a clean process of independent investigation that is safeguarded from executive interference. At a time when the Lokayukta in a State such as Karnataka has its own investigation wing – something it has used to very good effect – it is retrogressive to withhold this instrument from the Lokpal.

At the same time, the new Bill has sought to keep the Central Bureau of Investigation out of the Lokpal's purview ostensibly on the ground that it should have autonomy over its investigations. Given the agency's record of bowing to the diktats of its political masters, there is no reason to believe that investigations, even those that are Lokpal-referred and Lokpal-monitored, will be free of political interference. The Centre, which has retained administrative control (read: promotions, transfers, etc.) of the CBI via the Ministry of Personnel, knows better than most that he who pays the piper calls the tune. While the proposal that a new panel (comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India or his nominee) selects the Director of the CBI will go some way in enhancing the credibility of the agency, the opportunity to confer on it genuine independence is being lost.

Just as problematic is the constitutional validity of some basic provisions of the Bill. The inclusion of minorities among the groups given reservation in the nine-member body is bound to be challenged on the ground that it amounts to a quota being given on grounds of religion. While this issue has little bearing on tackling corruption, the deep and seemingly irreconcilable political divisions it has created, reflected in the manner in which it dominated the parliamentary debate on the Bill, is bound to have a bearing on its passage. Is this a ploy to let anti-corruption legislation fall victim to a wholly extraneous issue – reservation? Will it be allowed to degenerate, as in the case of the women's reservation bill, into a legislative exercise that everyone claims to support but few really want?

There have also been serious concerns on another constitutional front – federalism. While it is hard to fault the principle of having comparable mechanisms and instruments to go after corruption at the central and State levels, the legislative procedure adopted is open to question. Rather than mandating the creation of a Lokpal-like structure in every State, would it not have been in keeping with India's federal structure and regional sensitivities for the central legislation to have model or enabling provisions for constituting effective Lokayuktas in States? Given the strong national public mood against corruption, it is unlikely that State governments would risk going against it.

Unfortunately, the improvements in the new Bill have been overshadowed by the slew of regressive alterations. The inclusion of the Prime Minister under the Lokpal with certain exceptions is a step up from the earlier stipulation that permitted any inquiry only after he or she demitted office. The new Bill brings both Group ‘A' and ‘B' officers under the Lokpal's ambit. While this is short of Team Anna's demand that Group ‘C' and ‘D' officials be covered as well, it is an improvement on earlier drafts, under which the Lokpal's purview was limited to Group ‘A' officers. Further, while the ‘C' and ‘D' categories will be covered by the Central Vigilance Commission, cases relating to them will be reviewed by the Lokpal. The idea of granting constitutional status to the office of the Lokpal would have had traction had the Bill vested the body with the strength and self-sufficiency to make a serious impact on corruption. Unfortunately, a mixture of bad faith and a reluctance to loosen the grip on the handle of power have contributed to the making of a Bill that has caused deep divisions in Parliament and enough disenchantment to fuel a new round of Team Anna-led protests against the Centre. The country is no closer to a consensus on the Lokpal Bill than it was many months ago

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article2742291.ece

WHAT'S WRONG WITH CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY?

Just as the corporation’s history of social and environmental damage dates back to the East India Company, equally the concept of corporate responsibility is not new. While some corporations have taken every opportunity to make  profit regardless of the impacts on society, benefiting from the slave trade, colonialism and war, there is equally a history of a small minority of companies taking a more philanthropic approach by (to some extent) considering the needs of employees or assisting the poor18. The creation of cooperatives and mutuals as alternative forms to the corporation reflects the long- standing concerns around the impacts of corporations.

There has never been a heyday when corporations acted for the benefit of society. But the unprecedented power of corporations in recent decades, together with an informed and educated general public, has created a real threat to the legitimacy of the corporation, which CSR seeks to counteract.

Evolution of the concept 

The phrase Corporate Social Responsibility was coined in 1953. with the publication of Bowen's 'Social Responsibility of Businessmen', which posed the question 'what responsibilities to society can business people be reasonably expected to assume?'19. Writing on the subject in the 1960s expanded the definition, suggesting that beyond legal obligations companies had certain responsibilities to society20. In 1984, the celebrated management consultant Peter Drucker wrote about the imperative to turn social problems into economic opportunities21.

Throughout the 70s and 80s academic discussion of the concept of CSR grew, but the first company to actually publish a social report was Ben and Jerry's in 1989(22), and the first major company was Shell in 1998(23) .

The first international code of conduct 

In the late 70's both the Organisation of Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD), and the United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations (UNCTC) began developing codes of conduct in an attempt to control different aspects of corporate globalisation. In 1976, the OECD, a grouping of 30 powerful industrialised countries, recognising the complications associated with companies operating across borders, established a set of guidelines to ease the workings of globalisation; setting the 'rules of the game' for foreign direct investment, and creating an atmosphere of confidence and predictability in overseas corporations.

The OECD 'Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises' covered areas such as accounting, tax payments, and operating in accordance with local laws. The guidelines are aimed at countries rather than companies, and compliance with them can be important for gaining listings in certain stock exchanges and export credits.24

The UNCTC code of conduct, however, aimed to regulate corporate abuse rather than to facilitate corporate access to new markets, and unsurprisingly was less successful. The code might have been a useful tool for controlling corporate excess, but the body was dismantled under pressure from corporations and instead merged into the UN Conference on Trade and Development - a body which promotes foreign investment25.

Anti-corporate backlash 

The rise in anti-corporate activism over environmental and 

human rights issues made a shift in corporate attitudes towards social and environmental issues essential. The 70s and 80s saw major international boycotts of companies investing in South Africa, notably Barclays Bank, and the Nestlé boycott over the company's aggressive milk formula marketing strategies in the global South. This period was typified by confrontational campaigning that forced change from companies by attacking the brand26.

In the 1990s corporate lobbying effectively undermined attempts to regulate their activities at a global level. Instead it achieved an extension of corporate power both logistically, through improved transport and communications, and legally, through international agreements such as the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), and the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which extended and enshrined rights for corporations27.

De-railing the Earth Summit 

The 1992 Earth Summit in Rio was a key moment in the evolution of CSR as corporate involvement succeeded in impeding the Summit's ambitious task to 'find ways to halt the destruction of irreplaceable natural resources and pollution of the planet.'28. During the build up, proposals put forward by Sweden and Norway for regulation of multinationals, based on the work of UNCTC, were crushed in favour of voluntary corporate environmentalism29.

The level of corporate involvement in the summit was unprecedented, with a coalition of 48 companies formed specifically to influence its outcomes. This new coalition, the Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD, later to become the World Business Council on Sustainable Development WBCSD) was established by Swedish millionaire Stephan Schmidheiny, at the invitation of Maurice Strong, the chair of the Summit30. The BCSD and International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) took a tandem approach which effectively shifted the debate. From one side the ICC attacked any measures that moved towards corporate regulation, and the BCSD trumpeted the 'changing course of industry' towards voluntary self-regulation 31. This type of strategy has come to typify corporate lobbying against progressive regulation. 32

Shell's PR disaster and the turning point for CSR 

The anti-corporate backlash reached a climax in 1995, as the spotlight turned on Shell. That year the company stood accused of complicity in the execution of Ken Saro Wiwa and eight other activists in Nigeria, as well as being hounded by Greenpeace over the decision to sink the Brent Spar oil platform. Shell temporarily lost the confidence of investors and the public.

Shell's annus horribilis was a sign of things to come and woke up many in the business world to the importance of their public reputations and the ability of campaigners to damage them. With their license to operate on the line, a strategy to convince the public that corporations played an important and meaningful role in society was essential. Capitalism had to be given a human face. Step forward CSR.

Shell spent £20 million on its PR offensive to rebuild its reputation33, contracting PR company Fishburn Hedges to co- ordinate its strategy34. Shell published a statement of business principles outlining its core values of 'honesty, integrity and respect for people' 35. The company's strategy focused on the 'magic keys' - ‘openness and dialogue’36, pioneering the practice of producing CSR reports with its 'Profit and Principles - Does there have to be a choice? The Shell Report' in 199837. The report was produced by Associates in Advertising and endorsed by the environmental consultancy SustainAbility38. The involvement of SustainAbility, who had previously been critical of Shell, was key to the re-brand. The production of the report was coupled with a global advertising campaign focusing on environmental issues and a new website encouraging stakeholders to 'Tell Shell', enabling the company to appear to involve the community in its decision-making whilst making no definite commitments 39. The strategy was successful in rebuilding the company's reputation amongst key opinion formers and decision makers40.

So, CSR came as a direct response by corporations to anti-corporate activism and the reputational damage campaigns were able to cause. It represents a success for corporations in resurrecting their public image and colonising the issue space around the social and environmental impacts of business. Tom Delfgaauw, former vice president for sustainable development at Shell, described the company's problems in the mid 90s as 'the best thing that ever happened to us, first because we've come out of it much, much stronger as a company, and second because it accelerated a great many needed corporate developments.' 41

It is doubtful whether Ken Saro Wiwa would share the sentiment, particularly considering the continued environmental devastation, poverty and human rights abuse in the Niger Delta.

The rise of the CSR industry 

The 1990s saw CSR become an established industry with major companies such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG and Burson Marsteller entering the CSR service provision market. New consultancies, such as SustainAbility (1989), Business for Social Responsibility (1992) and CSR Europe(1996), also sprang up over this period, all promising to protect industry from protest42. Specialist university research centres and the CSR conferencing circuit also emerged in the late 90s.43 Similarly CSR evolved beyond simple codes of conduct and reporting to include more extensive dialogue with stakeholders, NGO engagement and 'multistakeholder initiatives' such as the Ethical Trading Initiative (1993) and the Forest Stewardship Council (1998), bringing together companies, NGOs and in some cases governments. Similarly trade unions began negotiating and signing global framework agreements44.

The Global Compact and other corporate codes of conduct 

The following years saw a plethora of voluntary initiatives and codes of conduct being developed, by individual companies as well as sectoral codes and international frameworks. Codes  included the International Organisation for Standardization's ISO14001 in 199645, the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Reporting Guidelines in 1997 46, Social Accountability International's SA8000 in 1998 47, the Accountability AA1000 Assurance Standard in 1999 48, and the United Nation's Global Compact in 1999 49.

The most high profile of these is the UN's Global Compact. The Global Compact was designed by the office of the Secretary General, Kofi Annan, with considerable input from the International Chamber of Commerce (which did its utmost to ensure a 'business friendly' approach). The Compact is a set of nine principles on human rights, environmental sustainability and labour rights (now expanded to 10 with the inclusion of a principle on corruption).

Many NGOs have been highly critical of the Compact as it has no monitoring or enforcement mechanism and so allows companies to appropriate the name of the United Nations to reinforce their reputations without requiring them to change any aspect of their activities50. Deborah Doane, of the Corporate Responsibiility (CORE) Coalition, argues in 'Red Tape to Road Signs' that 'by promoting these instruments as substitutes for international governance institutions, the UN and OECD effectively undermine the ability of national governments to put forward a different approach.'51

Enron and a failed move towards mandatory social and environmental reporting in the UK. 

In 2001, the collapse of Enron, once a paragon of CSR, showed just how deeply a corporation’s claims of social responsibility can differ from the reality. As Joel Bakan argues in The Corporation, 'Enron's story... suggests, at a minimum, that scepticism about corporate social responsibility is well warranted.'52

Enron's collapse, and the mistrust of corporations that the whole saga galvanised in the public consciousness, led to some soul-searching within the CSR movement. However, much of the public discussion centred on protecting investors, and the main concrete change brought about by the episode was the introduction of the Sarbanes Oxley Act in the USA. This has tightened up accounting regulations and introduced new reporting standards which include some aspects of non-financial risk reporting, but no substantive change on the issue of companies’ wider social impacts.

The UK government went down a similar line with the Operating Financial Review (OFR), in which all stock market listed companies would be required by law to produce a yearly review of their business operations and future developments and risks. This was to include information on environmental matters, employees and social and community issues, though the content of that reporting would be entirely at the company's discretion. However, in December 2005, Gordon Brown announced that the OFR would be abolished, a decision which is currently being challenged by Friends of the Earth in the High Court.53 Though the OFR was watered down to a point where it meant little more than mandating companies to produce more PR, it would have represented a tentative shift towards mandatory social and environmental reporting.

From CSR to corporate accountability? 

The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) marked the crowning of CSR. Friends of the Earth led calls for a Convention on Corporate Accountability54, instead the summit delivered much the same outcome as Rio, with over 280 'new' partnerships between government and industry announced as 'outcomes' of the summit55, the first time such initiatives have been endorsed in this way. Christian Aid has documented the way in which discussion of the issue of corporate regulation in the summit's agenda, changed from working towards a 'multilateral agreement', to developing a 'framework', to simply 'promoting best practice'56. Amongst activists and NGOs, however, dissatisfaction with the CSR model was clear. 

While many NGOs continue to engage with business, the calls for corporate accountability are growing with campaigns such as International Right to Know Campaign in the USA, the CORE Coalition in the UK and other initiatives internationally pressing for more legally binding rather than voluntary regulation.

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http://www.corporatewatch.org/

A million opportunities lost

Author(s): Richard Mahapatra, M Suchitra, Moyna

Issue: Dec 15, 2011 http://www.downtoearth.org.in

The ruling alliance’s flagship rural employment programme took unprecedented strides in creating water conservation structures across the country, but only to harvest disillusionment. What went wrong? Richard Mahapatra travels to Jharkhand, M Suchitra to Andhra Pradesh and Moyna to Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in search of answers

People in Limbi village of Madhya Pradesh prefer laying roads. They are abandoning work on water structures because of wage delays (Photo: Moyna)

This is the little known big story of India’s nationwide rural employment programme. In the past five years the programme has sought to create tanks, ponds, wells and revive traditional water conservation structures at a scale and pace not witnessed before in the country. Millions of people in the countryside seeking jobs under the programme embarked on building or reviving 3.4 million water conservation structures, according to the Union rural development ministry. This is unprecedented given that before 2005, all the public wage schemes together created just about two million structures in six decades.

The programme, run under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), assures 100 days of manual employment to any rural household that demands work. Under the Act, creation of water conservation structures is compulsory. As a result, today Indian villages have more per capita water structures than hospital beds, school teachers and policemen put together. Official data shows every village has six-seven such structures. Ask any old-timer in a village, this is more than enough to capture sufficient water for a village’s water security round the year.

More bounty awaits Indian villages this year. States have submitted proposals for 5.4 million more water conservation structures under the employment programme for this fiscal. If taken up, these proposals will more than double each village’s capacity to harvest water.

MGNREGA, credited for the ruling United Progressive Alliance’s (UPA’s) re-election in 2009, has emerged as the world’s largest public wage programme, with a budget that does not have a match in India’s past. In the past five years, the Central government spent close to Rs 110,000 crore on the programme or about Rs 45 lakh for every panchayat. Of this, the spending on water conservation structures was close to Rs 54,000 crore.

Arguably, these structures should have created a huge water harvesting capacity. The programme claims the added capacity is 3.07 billion cubic metres under water conservation and renovation of traditional water bodies, two of the four categories of water-related works under MGNREGA. This can take care of the drinking and cooking water needs of the country. Irrigation channels dug under the programme cover enough distance to make two return trips to the moon (see ‘Potential created’).

*Incomplete works include in-progress/suspended works and those approved but not in progress; Source: Ministry of Rural Development

The country’s poorest and smallest farmers own a major share of these structures because the Act allows people belonging to Scheduled castes and tribes to take up irrigation works on their own land. The community participated enthusiastically in the programme, creating facilities to irrigate close to six million hectares (ha). This almost compares to the country’s total irrigation target for the 11th five-year plan from all sources. During the plan period the government set a target of restoring 20,000 traditional water bodies; MGNREGA has revived more than half a million of them.

This should have been an economic boom for the villages. Every structure gives two benefits: cash as wage and increase in agriculture due to water availability. The National Council for Applied Economic Research in 2009 found that 60 million people were taken above the poverty line because of the programme. This is based on the wage money people got. The rural development ministry claims per household earning nearly doubled between 2006-07 and 2010-11.

Although there is no consolidated ecological and economic impact assessment of the programme, government does make public statements about its “impressive” impacts. D K Jain, joint secretary with the ministry who is in charge of the programme, says, “The 2009 drought was more severe than the 2002 one but the year reported 0.4 per cent more agricultural production. That is the impact of the programme.” Several studies done on small scale indicate benefits from water conservation works, like increase in incomes, groundwater levels and irrigated area.

Well in Dibar Tuti’s farm in Khunti, Jharkhand, collapsed before it was ready (Photo: Richard Mahapatra)

Potential watered down

Shouldn’t the country celebrate this feat? No, say many villages across the country. “My dream crashed with MGNREGA,” says Dibar Tuti, a resident of Salgadih village in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, pointing at a collapsed well in his small farm. Three years of drought had left his farm parched, forcing him to migrate for sundry work. In April, the state government decided to dig 112,307 traditional wells under MGNREGA to overcome drought. Owning a well was Tuti’s dream. He had seen many people walking out of the poverty trap doing vegetable farming. Khunti and adjoining districts are known as the vegetable bowl of the state, thanks to the government drive in late 1980s called Million Well programme that created a large number of wells. Assured irrigation encouraged small farmers to take up vegetable farming. “I thought I would also become rich with a well,” says Tuti.

He did come close to his dream. The gram sabha (village council) approved a well on his land. But the decision came late, in the end of May. By the time the well was sunk up to the stipulated 35 feet, monsoon arrived. Without stone lining, the well collapsed. “I lost part of my farm and the well,” says Tuti.

Like Tuti, the state also lost a great pool of assets and an opportunity to fix poverty. Within a month of showers, the success story turned sour. By the time monsoon arrived most of the wells were not complete and collapsed. The state’s rural landscape is now littered with collapsed wells. “At least half the structures are completely lost. Some of the rest can be revived,” says Ramesh Sharan, an economist who has extensively studied the region’s economy and is also member of the State Employment Guarantee Council, the guiding body for the programme.

*Incomplete works include in-progress/suspended works and those approved but not in progress; Source: Ministry of Rural Development

Revival seems difficult now. There is a virtual boycott of MGNREGA in the villages. In most cases wages have not been paid till date. On October 2, village council meetings took place in Khunti and Gumla districts, like elsewhere in the state. “We found very few people willing to work under the scheme,” says Punita Oraon, a panchayat member of Lakia village in Gumla district. “First people lost a big opportunity to earn more. Then they lost their land. Now they have not been paid wages as well. Is there a reason they will want to work for MGNREGA?” she asks. In Lakia, residents who worked on 35 wells got payment after a year.

Empowering people is the most important feature of MGNREGA but they rarely decide the kind of work to be undertaken. Officials call the shots (Photo: Meeta Ahlawat)

“Late payments were due to a delay in release of funds from the Union government. The price of stones also went up because of the huge demand caused by the extensive well construction,” says Ajay Kumar Singh, the state MGNREGA commissioner. Workers get paid only after the works have been measured and recorded. Only 2.65 per cent of the works in Jharkhand have been measured till date, going by government’s own data. This means wages in case of 97 per cent of works have not been paid.

The potential lost is enormous. Going by the experience of the Million Wells programme, each well could have irrigated 0.4 ha. This means the state lost 45,450 ha of irrigation potential, an impressive figure given that only 11 per cent of the agricultural land in the state has irrigation facilities. “A well irrigates two-three crops even when water is available till March. Our research shows each well would have led to Rs 30,000 annual income per family,” says Sharan.

A year ago a similar campaign to take up pond construction met with a similar fate. Since 2006, Jharkhand has accumulated more than 200,000 incomplete water conservation works. “We have lost a big opportunity,” adds Sharan.

Across the country thousands of water structures, each a potential money spinner, have been abandoned. Reasons vary from wage delay to lack of planning to taking up structures without factoring in the capacity of local institutions. During 2006- 2011 (till September) only around 1.2 million water conservation works could be completed, while the rest are either in progress or suspended. The number of works suspended or in progress has steadily risen since the inception of the programme in 2006, from 0.25 million to 2.54 million (see ‘Potential killed’). Though water conservation works account for 60 per cent of the total permissible works under the scheme, completed water works are just 38 per cent of total completed works. This is a decline of 10 per cent since 2006. Similarly, in case of works that have been approved but not started, water works top the list, with an accumulation of around 4.4 million works by 2011.

Missing annual village plan

But are the 1.2 million completed works yielding benefits? Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, the first to implement MGNREGA, provides some answers. The district’s record in creating water conservation assets is impressive. Under the employment guarantee programme, an average of 38 water conservation works have been created in each of the distri ct’s 3,384 villages. In the past two years, the district has dug 8.5 million cubic metres of trenches, 30,000 farm ponds and 10,000 percolation tanks, including rock dams. This potential can irrigate one crop in around 70 per cent of the district’s farms. In reality the impact has been very different. This potential has not made farming more attractive. “Unable to bear the stress of agriculture, many farmers are leaving farming and joining labour force,” says Bablu Ganguly, chairperson of Timbaktu Collective, an NGO working on water and soil conservation and organic farming.

The district is one of the driest in the country. It has been fighting desertification that threatens its dominantly agrarian economy. MGNREGA has all the ingredients to stop desertification. It mandates a village plan and a five-year district plan to use MGNREGA to revive village ecology. But stopping desertification was not planned, points out E Somasekhar, former sarpanch of Koduru village in Chilamathur mandal. In fact, Anantapur has not even developed the mandatory perspective plan. This has also affected the water conservation work in many villages. For instance, in the first two years, one of the major works identified was building earthen bunds for water harvesting. Bunds were built even in black soil that cannot hold such bunds. “Such works were taken up many times in the same place without any result,” points out D Ramesh, former sarpanch of Chhayapur village. Though hundreds of rock-fill dams have been constructed, many hold water only for a few days. “When there’s no water, villagers take away the rocks for other purposes,” says A Ramachandra, a farmer in Gandlaparthy village of Raptadu mandal. Some 5,000 such works are shown completed but are of no use.

The most common complaint is non-involvement of the community in planning the structures as stipulated by the Act. Under the Act, each village is required to prepare an annual plan based on local needs. This plan indicates the types of works to be undertaken. When people demand employment their labour is used to take up these works. At the district level, all the village plans get consolidated into a district perspective plan that spans over five years.

One can see a semblance of planning in villages where NGOs are active. “But in many other villages gram sabhas are nominal executives where only 20-30 people participate,” says Ramesh of Chhayapur. None of the village panchayats has prepared the mandatory village plan. In absence of a substantial impact on agriculture, MGNREGA is being treated as a mere wage-earning programme. The aim of MGNREGA is precisely the opposite: to revive a village’s ecology and economy so that it no longer requires the programme.

Lack of people’s participation has negated the programme’s potential, even in districts considered successful in implementation. In Rajasthan’s Dungarpur district, widely acknowledged for effective implementation of the employment programme, people have written it off as just another wage-earning scheme. Ramesh Bohra of Rampur village switched from farming to selling tea, using money earned under MGNREGA. He does not find farming sustainable despite canals and check dams.

This dam in Tangra village of Barwani cost Rs 17 lakh for holding no water. Its shutters were not fixed but on paper it’s ready

From 2006 till August 2011, Dungarpur spent Rs 482.6 crore on 31,614 water structures. Based on the secondary data, Rajasthan MGNREGA commissioner Tanmay Kumar claims between August 2010 and July 2011, the state created 20 billion litres of additional water capacity. This would imply availability of 30 to 50 litres per person per day. Official figures show enough water harvesting capacity built since 2006 to meet 30 per cent of the district’s irrigation need. But the district continues to be declared drought-affected. Cultivable land has increased only marginally in the past five years. Officials blame it on deficient rain but the deficit is barely 50 per cent of the total.

Some like Karulal Kotardh of Deval village believe the impact of MGNREGA has been limited because of lack of planning. “If you study the check dams and ponds created since 2006, they are just blocking water and not assisting irrigation,” he says. In his village two ponds were dug in 2008. Neither provides irrigation as no canals were dug to carry water. Pujilal Damor, another resident of Deval, explains, “There has been so little rain in this area that we have not worked on water structures much.” This year, he says, the district received 20 per cent more than normal rainfall and the embankment of one of the two ponds in his village gave way. This happened because “we are located on higher ground and the mud embankment could not take the pressure”.

In Deval, of the 181 works sanctioned only 70 were those mentioned in the gram sabhas, says Umesh Bandat, the son of the panchayat head. He claims there is no longer demand for water works like anicuts and check dams.

No wage, no interest

In Madhya Pradesh’s Barwani district as well residents gave the thumbs down to the programme. Nestled in the hills of the Satpura and Vindhyachal ranges, the region is criss-crossed by streams and natural storm water drains. But during 2007-10 it reeled under a severe drought. This fuelled people’s interest in water conservation, and MGNREGA was the perfect instrument. In just five years, work on 5,439 water conservation structures were taken up. This slowed the tide of migration out of the villages, but not for long.

Very few people are willing to work under MGNREGA in Lakia village of Gumla (Photo: Richard Mahapatra)

Val Singh of Limbi village in Pati block says five years ago about 75 per cent of the village migrated and this number decreased to nearly 25 per cent following the implementation of the scheme. It is rising once again. “The rise in migration is the result of delayed payments, which are four to six months late,” says Singh. In a village close to Limbi, Sawariyapani, five people left the village in search for work last year. This year that number has risen to 30.

About the delayed payments, Barwani MGNREGA Project Officer Afsar Khanhe says as per rules they need to be made within 15 days but measurement of work, submission and cross-checking of reports, and sanctioning wages take at least 20 working days. This has led to works being abandoned halfway. Official data supports these claims. In the district, 18,704 water conservation works have been reported as ongoing or suspended between 2007-08 and 2011-12. Only 2,734 works have been completed.

Begalgaon is one of the many villages scattered with incomplete works. Its residents say they are rarely taken into confidence before deciding the kind of work or sites. Har Singh of Sawariyapani says that in 2009-10 the gram sabha had requested for continuous contour trenches and cattle prevention trenches to prevent soil erosion and assist water conservation. “Instead, we were told that dug wells will have to be constructed,” says Har Singh.

Demand goes down

India has literally snatched a failure from the jaws of success. The programme’s most important provisions, like community-driven village planning and priority of local needs, have not been pursued seriously. Although the Act emphasises village-level planning for assets creation, there is no mention of making the assets durable and, thus, productive. In fact, MGNREGA does not have any provision for completion of work. It is also a reflection of governments giving precedence to employment over durable productive assets.

Incomplete water structures are of no use to communities. This has discouraged people from taking up water conservation works. Across the country demand for road connectivity works under MGNREGA has increased. The reason people demand more roads than other works is that roads fetch wages quicker and the results are immediately visible as opposed to those of water conservation.

At the national level, the percentage of water conservation works to total works undertaken is declining steadily (see ‘Water structures v roads’). In 2006-07, completed water conservation works accounted for 48 per cent of the total completed works. This has decreased to 38 per cent in 2011-12. Going by the rural ministry data, though water conservation works have been approved in large numbers, work has not started. Such works account for 75 per cent of the approved-but-not-in-progress works. Road connectivity works, on the other hand, have picked up. Only five per cent of the road connectivity works approved have not been taken up. “Roads have become more popular because they are cost-effective and can be outsourced to contractors. This leads to greater possibility of money siphoning,” says Ved Arya, director of NGO SRIJAN, the programme implementing partner, and member of the Central Employment Guarantee Council.

The performance review committee of MGNREGA has compiled data that shows demand for all kinds of work under MGNREGA is decreasing as well. In 2010-11, average employment provided per household was 47 days against the guaranteed 100 days. In fact, the average has reduced in 18 states with high casual labour workforce. Arunachal Pradesh reported 71 per cent decline, while Karnataka reported 33 per cent decline in the past five years despite severe spells of drought. Maharashtra, with large casual labour population and under an agrarian crisis, reported 25 per cent decline.

Government and non-government experts differ in interpreting this data. Government says it is precisely because of the programme’s focus on village development that people have become less dependent on MGNREGA. Others say lack of people’s involvement and the incomplete nature of works have discouraged people from participating in the programme. IIT Chennai that surveyed the programme in Tamil Nadu found that if people’s expectations are not captured in the programme’s implementation, it would not have any participation (read demand for jobs).

It is a vicious cycle. Incomplete work results in disillusionment, and disillusionment leads to more incomplete works.

Why MGNREGA is slow in building assets

1

Absence of village plans

To begin with, the work plans of the earlier Food for Work Programme, prepared by government officials, were adopted. Communities should draft village plans but in most cases it does not happen. Most water structures are built without any understanding of their catchments or technical inputs. Consequently, the structures do not give optimum results

2

Incomplete works never completed

This was noticed in the beginning but no one did anything about it. Every year new works were taken up with the same faulty plans and before completing the incomplete works. The labour force available is also limited because demand for work is not so high

3

No compulsion to complete work

MGNREGA has no provision to finish works. Works are abandoned for lack of labour. Officials blame it on the low ratio of material cost. Works are stopped when material cost reaches the stipulated norm

4

Wage delay keeps people away

Many people withdraw from work halfway because wages are paid very late. At times it takes months

5

Irrational wage

Digging wells or tanks is labour-intensive and skilled work but payment is according to the volume of earth dug. So working on water structures fetches wage disproportionate to labour. That is why road construction is gaining popularit

Grasshopper and the Ant : The Story in Indian Way

Original Story: 

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter. The Grasshopper thinks the Ant is a fool and laughs dances plays the summer away. Come winter, the Ant is warm and well fed. The Grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.

Indian Version:

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter. The Grasshopper thinks the Ant's a fool and laughs dances plays the summer away. 

Come winter, the shivering Grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the Ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering Grasshopper next to a video of the Ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor Grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the Ant's house.

Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other Grasshoppers demanding that Grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter .

Mayawati states this as 'injustice' done on Minorities.

Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticize the Indian Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the Grasshopper.

The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the Grasshopper (many promising Heaven & Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance) .

Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Left parties call for 'Bengal Bandh' in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.

CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among Ants and Grasshoppers.

railway minister allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath'.

Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the 'Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act'[POTAGA] , with effect from the beginning of the winter..

Arjun Singh makes 'Special Reservation' for Grasshoppers in Educational Institutions in Government Services.

The Ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, it's home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the Grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV, BBC, CNN.

Arundhati Roy calls it 'A Triumph of Justice'. 

mayavati calls it 'Socialistic Justice'.

CPM calls it the 'Revolutionary Resurgence of the Downtrodden'

Koffi Annan invites the Grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.

Many years later...

The Ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi-billion dollar company in Silicon Valley ,

100s of Grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere in India ,

....AND

As a result of losing lot of hard working Ants and feeding the grasshoppers, India is still a developing country...!!

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Created by unknown, Contributed by Aashish Singh

ashish.singh@tatatechnologies.com

JISAD-“Guiding youth, Spurring smiles”.

Acquiring and developing the skills that provided employment is need of hour, especially for rural youth. JanMitram undertakes different skill development for the school drop-outs and existing workers especially in the informal sector. This is done in close consultation with industry, micro enterprises in the informal sector, experts and academia. This year , over 500 youth were trained in different programme assisted by NABARD, State and Central Government funds. Also we implemented Skill development programmes for SBI sponsorship R-seti this year.  

Establishment of JISAD

 Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh is repidly growing as industrial hub and more than 200 industries in different sectors have set foot in the area. This has also spurred growth of ancillaries, finance and service sectors. Thereby, demand of skilled man power has risen steeply.

A decade back, Raigarh was a backward district and scenario regarding education, entrepreneurship and skills was grim. Since then, it has shown the little development, forcing industries to fetch skilled people from outside. This poses a threat of local unrest in coming times. However, Industries and ancillaries cannot hire all land-looser, affected people who are unskilled merely to meet demand of employment. Industry affected people and general youth has to take-up the opportunities of wage or self employment in other institutions, doing business with industries or getting benefit of their existence by any means. The district needs tremendous number of Computer accountants, Computer operators, Tax return preparers,(Finance industry) HMV and LMV Drivers, Automobile mechanics(Transportation industry), Mesons, plumbers, Electricians, (Construction industry),welders, fitters, Machinist (Ancillaries), Stenos, Security guards and house-maid (Services) etc.

JanMitram Institute of Skills and Development 

However, the mindset of youth leans towards white collar wage employment. One has to fight with this mindset and also develop entrepreneurship and skills to counter the unrest growing in peoples mind. The conventional mechanism of skill development viz. ITIs in the district is paralyzed and suffering with own problems. Therefore JanMitram, last year started JISAD- JanMitram Institute for skill development. The JISAD provides Carrier Counseling, Vocational Trainings and skill development services, with a motto of “Guiding youth, Spurring smiles”.

The JISAD is now entrusted to conduct all skill development and vocation trainings of JanMitram. This year JISAD conducted many in house and External Training this year.

 NABARD Assisted SDP on lac handicrafts

In last few years, JanMitram has successfully promoted lac handicrafts in Raigarh district. Over 300 SHG women and youth have got training in this trade and most of them are working successfully. Raigarh integrated shellac association and JanMitra Marketing and consultancy limited, are providing handholding and marketing support to these trainees.

With time, it was felt that product range is limited and also many of artisan need improved training and equipments, for achieving better finishing. Nabard came forward and sanctioned a skill development programme for thirty trainees in Chhote gumda and Bade gumda villages. (also see http://janmitram.blogspot.com/2011/07/success-stories-from-lac-handicraft.html)

The training curriculum consisted making of jewelries, application of dyes and moulds, making new colures etc. The training went on for 45 days. DDM –NABARD regularly visited the programme and finally all the trainees were awarded with certificates.

Distribution of Handicraft Tool kits to Lac Handicraft Artisans

Distribution of Handicraft Toolkits: It is worth mentioning that DRDA Raigarh assisted all handicraft artisans by providing toolkits to all lac handicraft trainees. The toolkits were supported by BRGF livelihood component. Block Development officer of Gharghoda attended the programme and distributed toolkits to all beneficiaries. APO-ZP Mr. D.K.Makwana , I/C of BRGF programme also attended the ceremony.

Computer Accountancy Training

Computer Accountancy is a potential trade for wage employment in given scenario of Raigarh. Therefore 50 educated unemployed youth from rural areas were taken for training in these trades.

The training was assisted by DRDA under BRGF-Capacity building component. The traiing was tow months long and trainees learnt basic accounting, Tally based accounting, Tax calculation etc.. This was followed by apprenticeship in local chartered accountants’ offices.

Heavy industrial vehicle driving training

Contraction and industrial activities are increasing in Raigarh and nearby areas. There are about 300 JCBs, 200 Dozers, 50 Hydra, 35-50 pokleins in Raigarh, Tamnar and nearby area. These vehicles are Very costly and need careful operation. However, no training facility for drivers is available. Unskilled drivers are accident-prone and most of the time brings damage to costly heavy-duty machines. Therefore there is a good demand for trained drivers.

JISAD initiated the training with assistance of DRDA’s BRGF scheme. M/S dynamic Engineering, Sole distributor of JCBs in Chhattisgarh, collaborated with programme.  50 schools dropped, unemployed youth joined the trainings

Industrial Vehicle Driving Course is a huge success 

 Theory and practical session went on for one month and then apprentice with JCB owners was provided. Poor student also got assistance for obtaining HMV driving license.

MFI Sangwari Training

Microfinance is a growing business in rural areas. Microfinance agents need to know group approach for thrift; saving etc. they also need to learn motivation of Self help groups, Joint liability groups, common interest groups etc. we found it a unique wage employment orientated trade.Therefore , training for 50 youth and elders, having inertest for social service were chosen from all over the district and with this eight weeks training, learn the group handling technique. Theory and practical went side by side. 

After training two month apprenticeship was given inside JanMitram, under Sanjivani Programme (Discussed earlier.) this not only provided employment opportunity to trainees, but also a village resource person to SHGs at village level.

Computer operation – MADA Pocket Scheme 

Computer literacy has become essential for youth to get wage employment in most of sectors. MADA pocket scheme, which is developmental scheme of CG government for some specific tribes, is running in selected villages.  JISAD has conducted computer operation training in two villages this year. 

The programme was coordinated by District employment officer. This ninety days training trained 20 student in basic computer operation, especially MS-office and some other regular software.

R-SETI Trainings: Government of India is started comprehensive skill development initiative in collaboration with banks. Rural Self employment training institute has been started in the district under this initiative and State bank of India is hosting it in Raigarh. JanMitam is chosen partner for implementation of training programmes. In this year, following trainings were conducted with SBI-R-Seti. Details of training carried out by JISAD in collaboration with R-SETI   are hear-under. 

Motor Winding and pump set Repairing

Skilled servicemen for Motor winding and pump set repairing are unavailable in rural areas. These causes loss of time and maony for farmers. Under banner of SBI-Rseti, JISAD conducted a training for same in which 37 rural unemployed youth participated. Residential arrangement for trainees was made. 

Training conducted by skilled resource person and arrangement for regular test, Certification and apprenticeship were made.

Dairy Farming

Agriculture and allied activities still hold key of rural economy. Dairy activity is prominent livelihood option having tremendous potential. Therefore, SBI sponsored Rural self employment training institute took a batch of 30 young animal rearers, chiefly from pussure and baramkela block for weeklong course on dearly farming. 

Trainees learnt about cattle-feeding, rearing, Economics and many different aspects of dairy. One day  exposure visit was also organized at Jindal Dairy. The training started on 23^rd Dec. and concluded on 30^th December.  

 H. Advanced mobile repairing   

In this age of rapid communication, Mobiles are almost universal in people’s hands. Therefore, skill for repairing of mobile handsets is good source of self employment. Under banner of R-Seti, JanMitram conducted advanced mobile repairing training, started on 28^th march. A total of 21 youth coming across the district participated in the training. 

A month-long training covered the handset technology, common faults, repairing, replacement, software downloading and many more issues enabling candidates to provide satisfactory service to clients. Beside, all the trainees got linked with successful mobile repairing shops for apprenticeship.  

Based on Annual Raport of 2010-11 

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Santosh Pandey ( Director- JISAD)  Contect : 09926644990

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