NREGA implementation in West Bengal - some statistics
By Debabrata Bandopadhyay. Translated by Soumya Guhathakurta, Sanhati
The oft repeated statement of the chief minister of West Bengal is that only 1% of the total land in the state is non- cultivable and therefore there is no way other than compulsory acquisition of cultivable land (eg multiple crop land in singur), in order to foster the growth of industry in the state. The fact of the matter is that 15.73 lac hectares of such uncultivable land (i.e 18.1% of such land) is located in remote areas, in areas that are not linked by modern modes of transport or communication. Another, oft repeated statement of the chief minister is that 94-96% of the landholders of the compulsorily acquired land in singur have handed over their holdings without any resistance. In response to the affidavit submitted by me in the high court of Calcutta, the joint secretary of Department of Land and Land Reforms, Government of West Bengal, submitted a counter affidavit stating that of the 997 acres compulsorily acquired by the state government only landholders of 287 acres have agreed to accept the compensation payable as per section 11(2) of land acquisition act,1894. It is therefore evident that the chief minister is wilfully spreading a canard of lies when a department reporting to him is submitting a completely different set of figures , under oath, to court. Another, instance of misstatement by the state government is the recent news report published on 20 September 2007 in The Statesman,Calcutta, wherein the minister for panchayats and rural development was quoted as stating that it is only in West Bengal that the various programmes under NREGA,2005 have been impartially distributed/implemented vis-a-vis other states of India. As usual, such claims were not supported with statistics.
We can now discuss the objectives of the NREGA,2005 with specific reference to West Bengal. The central government organisation which is the chief advisor as well as monitoring agency for NREGA,2005 participated in a discussion at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi on 20 September 2007 where the author was also present. The ministry of rural development, government of India , presented state /union territory wise detailed statistics of developmental work being done. National sample survey on the expenditure pattern of rural households for 2004-05 (61 st series) has also been prepared. As per NREGA ,2005 the main objective of this act is to increase the standard of living of rural households. Towards this end, 100 days of paid employment will have to be provided to each registered household during each fiscal year.
NREGA implementation status (2006-07)
| State | Man-days of work created per enlisted household | Rural poverty (%) | Rural families subject to mal/under nourishment (%) |
| Andhra Pradesh | 31.0 | 11.2 | 0.6 |
| Bihar | 35.0 | 42.1 | 2.8 |
| Chattisgarh | 56.0 | 40.8 | 2.6 |
| Jharkhand | 37.0 | 46.3 | 0.7 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 68.0 | 36.9 | 2.0 |
| Orissa | 58.0 | 46.8 | 6.1 |
| Rajasthan | 85.0 | 18.7 | 0.0 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 32.0 | 33.4 | 1.7 |
| West Bengal | 14.0 | 28.6 | 11.9 |
From the above table the state of affairs in West Bengal would be clear. In 2006-07 only 14 work days were created per enlisted household in West Bengal whereas as per NREGA, 2005, the stipulated limit is 100 work days. The top state wrt NREGA,2005, implementation is Rajasthan and the % of rural poverty in this state is 10 points lower than West Bengal and to top it , the highest percentage of households, suffering mal/under nourishment, is in the state of West Bengal.
It is a commonly held belief that agricultural labourers in West Bengal get the highest wages. However, as per the report of National commission for enterprises in organised sector August 2007 (Arjun Sengupta report) this myth has been exposed. As per the report (table 2.1 of the report), 95.4% of agricultural labourers in West Bengal draw wages substantially lower than statutory minimum of Rs.66/day. The average daily wages is Rs 45-46 for men and Rs 30-32 for women.
The Planning commission had entrusted a Delhi based NGO (Priya) to evaluate the implementation of NREGA,2005. The second phase of Priya’s survey was made in September 2007 and its findings are an eye opener. In March 2007, 40.2% of eligible households were enlisted, in West Bengal, under NREGA,2005, whereas the comparable figure for Rajasthan was 94.9%, 97.2% in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh , 85.1% in Jamtara, Jharkhand and 74.7% in Rajnandgaon, Chattisgarh. The low figure of eligible household registered under NREGA,2005 in a politically conscious state like West Bengal is indeed surprising.
From the aforesaid survey report it is also evident that 75.7% of the enlisted households in West Bengal under NREGA are paid wages much lower than the stipulated minimum. It would suffice to say that the claims made by the minster of panchayat and rural development, government of West Bengal are incorrect. Further, as per NREGA,2005 , enlisted households will have to be provided healthcare facilities and creche facilities for infants. In West Bengal , healthcare and creche facilities have been extended to only 13.5% of the enlisted households under NREGA,2005. Another, revealing statistic of the said survey report is that 100% of the NREGA,2005 projects in West Bengal have been done through the panchayats. An analysis of the class character of panchayat members in West Bengal will reveal that only a few of them are from poverty stricken households. In 1979, after the first panchayat elections in West Bengal, Dr. Satyabrata Sen, the then advisor to the left front government conducted a survey of the class composition of the elected panchayats. It was found that only 7% of the elected panchayat members were landless agricultural labourers and bargadars and 93% had direct relation and vested interest in ownership of land. A similar survey was repeated after the second panchayat elections in 1983 and the result was similar to the 1979 survey. It was observed that the panchayat system has been hijacked by the rich rural peasantry. 30 years hence this class has monopoly over all the levers of rural economy and power and will not allow any external force to upset their apple cart.
An increase in agricultural wages would mean an increase in income of the agricultural workers and this will only come from the surplus that is presently being enjoyed by the rich rural peasantry. If 100 days of employment at minimum wages as envisaged under NREGA,2005, are indeed made available to the agricultural labourers then there is an opportunity for augmentation of agricultural wages. But this is also a measure that will hurt the class interests of the rich rural peasantry. Marx believed that no one can go against the interests of his/her class and it would be futile to believe that the rich peasantry, well entrenched in the echelons of power in the West Bengal panchayati raj institutions, will turnout to be any different. Therefore, in West Bengal only 40.2% of the rural households have been enlisted as eligible households under NREGA,2005, only 14 days of work has been generated per household in lieu of 100 as stipulated in NREGA,2005, 75.7% of 40.2% enlisted households earn less than the national stipulated minimum wages and crèche facilities have been extended to only 13.5% of the enlisted households.
To sum up, a state government purportedly run by leftist, has pursued the class interests of its power base, the rural reach peasantry and in the process jeopardised the implementation of NREGA,2005, in West Bengal. This is nothing short of a betrayal of the working class, whose interests the west bengal leftists claim to protect.
(The author is the erstwhile Land Reforms Commissioner, Government of West Bengal.)
This article first appeared in the Dainik Statesman