Page 49 - DSOC201_SOCIAL_STRUCTURE_AND_SOCIAL_CHANGE_ENGLISH

Social Structure and Social Change

Notes employment were created every year by utilising lakhs of tonnes of foodgrains. The works
undertaken were flood protection, maintenance of existing roads, construction of new link roads,
improvement of irrigation facilities, construction of panchayat ghars, school buildings, medical and
health centres and improvement of sanitation conditions in the rural areas. On finding certain
shortcomings in the programme, it (FWP) was restructured in October 1980 as part of the Sixth
Plan (1980-85) and came to be known as NREP. It took care of those rural poor who largely
depended on wage employment and virtually had no source of income in the lean agricultural
period. The important points on which stress was laid in the implementation of this programme
were: (1) 10 per cent allocation was earmarked exclusively for drinking water wells in harijan
colonies and community irrigation schemes in Harijan areas. Likewise, another 10 per cent was
earmarked for social forestry and fuel plantations. (2) Only such works were under-taken which
had some durability. (3) Allocations were made both at the inter-state and inter-district/block
levels. The central government released the state’s share of the NREP allocation in cash every
quarter.(4) Maintenance of assets created under this programme was the responsibility of the state
governments. (5) PRIs were actively involved in this programme. This programme has now been
merged in JRY.
RLEGP
The Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP) aimed at providing supplemental
employment to the poor on public works at a very low wage of Rs. 3 per day. Maharashtra was
one state which had used the Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS) for the unemployed in rural
areas by levying EGS surcharge or collections on land revenue, sales tax, motor vehicles, irrigated
holdings, and on professionals. The amounts so collected, with matching contributions from the
state government, were credited to an EGS fund for taking up employment works. This programme
too has now been merged (along with NREP) into the JRY.
Jawahar Rozgar Yojna
This programme was announced in April 1989. Under the scheme, it is expected that at least one
member of each poor family would be provided with employment for 50 to 100 days in a year at
a work place near his/her residence. About 30 per cent of the jobs under this scheme are reserved
for women. Both the rural wage employment programmes (i.e., the REP and the RLEGP) were
merged in this scheme. Central assistance to the scheme is 80 per cent. The scheme is implemented
through village panchayats. The central government claims that 3121.33 million mandays of
employment were generated in various states between 1992-93 and 1995-96 under JRY at an outlay
of Rs. 13,248 crore (Rajasthan Patrika, June 16, 1966). The scheme covers 46 per cent of our population.
Antyodaya Programme
‘Antyodaya’ means development (udaya) of the people at the lowest level (ant), that is, the poorest
of the poor. This programme was initiated by the Government of Rajasthan on October 2, 1977 for
special assistance to the people below the poverty line. The idea was to select five of the poorest
families from each village (out of 27,000 inhabited villages) every year and to help them in their
economic betterment. Initially, a random survey was undertaken in 25 villages situated in different
ecological regions of the state and information about individual families with regard to indebtedness,
dependency ratio, physical assets of land, cattle, occupation, educational level, income and size of
the family was collected. Thereafter, a detailed scheme of Antyodaya was drawn up. The economic
criterion, in order of priority, for the selection of the poor families was laid down as: (1) families
under severe destitution without any productive assets and with no member in the age-group of
15-59 years capable of any economic activity; (2) families without any productive assets of land or
cattle but having one or more persons capable of working and with a per capita income up to Rs.
20 per month; (3) families having some productive assets with per capita income up to Rs. 30 per
month; and (4) families having per capita income up to Rs. 40 per month.
The task of identification of the families was entrusted to the village assembly (Gram Sabha).
Under this scheme, help was given in the form of allotting land for cultivation, monthly pension,
bank loan or help in getting employment. Each selected family was given a pension of Rs. 30-40

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