For long the critics of the national rural employment guarantee act (NREGA) have termed it the largest relief programme, where workers are paid in lieu of negligible work, and that the stated objective of creating durable assets has not been achieved.

Conceding very much the same, the rural development ministry has admitted that more than 50 percent of works taken up since the inception of NREGA are incomplete.

Shaken by the statistics, the ministry has issued a list of instructions to states on getting the work completed and has warned them that non-compliance iwth the instructions could prove expensive.

“From the information received from the state governments, it transpired that more than 50 per cent of works taken up since the inception of NREGA are incomplete. Recently, parliamentary standing committee in rural development has taken a serious view of this,” a note from the ministry sent to the states on January 21 said.

The instructions issued are as follows

•    While obtaining the technical and administrative sanction for the works, time frame for the completion of work should also be indicated.
•    Local vigilance and monitoring committee should be constituted for each work. the committee so constituted shall be responsible for constant monitoring of works at different stages and its completion as per time frame indicated.
•    Wherever it is not possible to complete the works within the given time frame, the reasons should be recorded by the implementing agencies and communicated to the state government which in turn will reflect the same in the monthly progress report
•    Tip most priority should be given to complete the pending works before taking up the new works
•    While submitting the proposal for labour budget, the progress of works taken up and completed should be indicated and wherever the works could not be completed in time, detailed justification along with the remedial measures proposed to complete the works should be indicated in the labour budget proposal.