About the Department
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme- Maharashtra, is different from other developmental schemes of the government. Compared to other schemes, the scheme has acquired a special importance due to the rights granted to the villagers by the law in this scheme.
The salient features of this scheme can be stated as follows-
Since the scheme is being implemented by the Central Government’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, the law has imposed restrictions for the implementation of the scheme.
- Every person living in rural areas above 18 years of age who is willing to do manual (unskilled) work is given the right by law to ask for work and it is mandatory by law to provide work as demanded. There is no difference between men and women in this.
- There is a special provision in the law for the weaker sections. In this, along with providing the benefits of the personal benefit scheme, as per the amendments made in Schedule 1 and 2 of the Central Government Act, there is a suggestion to issue job cards of a specific color to destitute women, disabled persons, unemployed persons, unemployed laborers and especially weak sections of tribals. So that it would be convenient to provide work to such persons according to their physical capacity. The law itself makes it mandatory for the implementing agency to provide work to a person above 18 years of age if he demands work, and the right to get work has been achieved through the scheme.
- Since the law provides for providing work for 100 days to a family, the family is guaranteed to get work for 100 days. Although the Central Government has guaranteed work for 100 days, the State Government has gone further and made provision for providing work for 365 days.
- According to decentralization, the Gram Sabha has got the right to plan the developmental work of its own village.
- Since wages are paid according to the measurement of the work done, remuneration is received according to the work done.
- This scheme prohibits work through contractors.
- The scheme provides for the payment of wages to the bank or post office account.
- Wages are not paid in cash.
- If work is not provided within 15 days of the request for work, the worker is entitled to unemployment allowance of 25 percent of the wage rate.
- If the wage is not provided to the worker within 15 days of the expiry of the attendance sheet, a delay compensation of 0.05 percent is admissible from the 16th day after the expiry of the attendance sheet.
- As per the government decision dated 26th February 2014, if the wage is not paid within the prescribed period, the state government will pay the compensation amount due due to the delay and then the District Collector/Chief Executive Officer or the officer authorized by him will make a detailed inquiry into the delay and recover the compensation amount from the officers/employees responsible for it.
- The scheme includes schemes for improving the agriculture of the weaker sections and increasing the productivity of agriculture through the Individual Benefit Scheme for the weaker sections at the village level. It also provides for the benefit of individual toilets.
- As per the amendments made in Schedules 1 and 2 of the Central Act for providing individual benefit schemes, nomadic castes/Vimukt Castes (VJNT). Female headed households and households headed by a disabled person have also been made eligible for the benefit of the individual scheme.
