Biometrics to check corruption in NREGS: RD ministry

Joins hands with UIDAI for new process to be launched on August 20

brajesh

Brajesh Kumar | July 20, 2010


Rural development minister C P Joshi
Rural development minister C P Joshi

The rural development ministry in collaboration with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is set to introduce biometrics-based identification to check the on-site corruption in the NREGS.

A committee comprising officials from the ministry, the department of Information technology and a representative of UIDAI has been constituted to consider the use of Biometrics, ICT devices and UID to improve the delivery system in the implementation of NREGA at the grassroots level.

“The introduction of the biometrics system will check fudging of the muster rolls and will help in the effective implementation of NREGA,” rural development minister C P Joshi told Governance Now in an exclusive interview.

A report prepared by the ministry notes: “The objective is to introduce biometric attendance on site to improve the overall delivery system in the implementation of NREGA by capturing all the processes right from registration, demand of work, issue of dated receipt, allocation of work, attendance at worksite with GPS coordinates, measurement of work and wage payments.”

The ministry has set August 20 as the deadline to roll out the biometric based transaction of NREGA processes. The manual attendance of workers on site has led to complaints of widespread existence of ghost workers, discrimination in awarding work and delays in preparation of muster rolls resulting in delayed payments.

The ministry expects the on-site biometric attendance would eliminate such complaints to a large extent. The process would require collection of biometric data of all NREGA workers and creation of a state data warehouse. The ministry is in the process of preparing a comprehensive concept note for rolling out the programme, which includes process mapping with the assistance of external consultants.

Comments

 

Other News

How social media is reshaping elections

Since Brazil’s return to direct presidential elections in 1985, no candidate who finished second in the first round of polling had ever won the presidency. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, now 81, has just done it. What explains the comeback, and what changed in Brazilian politics to make it possi

Cabinet approves Dearness Allowance, Dearness Relief

The union cabinet chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the release of an additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to central government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners with effect from 01.07.2026 representing an increase of 3% over the existing rates of 6

Cyclone Arnab strikes Andhra as warming oceans amplify storm risks

Cyclone Arnab made landfall along the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts in the early hours of Wednesday as a very severe cyclonic storm, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 125–135 kmph and gusts reaching 150 kmph. Its rapid intensification has raised concerns about how warmer oceans, global warmin

Counting matters but which ones?

The first instinct of public policy is to count. Its harder task is to count what counts. We have become remarkably good at measuring the reach of the welfare state vis-à-vis beneficiaries covered, rupees transferred, houses built, connections installed and services delivered. But some of the most

Inching closer to a trade deal with America

The cooperation between India and the United States goes back quite a time. We need to relegate that era to the backburner when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited US in the times of president Dwight Eisenhower and called the American let-off of 10 million dollars in defence aid to Pakistan as a “gun w

Manch vs Musk: Forty people and a foreign billionaire

About forty people walked the roundabout on Teen Murti Marg to the gate of Chanakyapuri police station, a distance you could cover in under a minute, on Friday to protest against Elon Musk’s Starlink. The walk was called by the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch. Nobody joined them on the way, and nobody seeme

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter