When 17 MNREGA workers from village Jagabor in Dungarpur district of Rajasthan were paid unemployment allowance on February 16, it was widely reported in the local media. After all, this was only the second case of payment of unemployment allowance in the state since the Act was passed, the first being that of a labourer in Bhilwara district, during the Bhilwara social audit in 2009. The fact that the payment of unemployment allowance, a worker’s right under section section 7 of the Act  makes news and is called a “landmark assertion of the right” is an unmistakable pointer to the gross violation of the Act.

MNREGA being a demand-driven scheme, it is the obligation of the panchayat to give work to whoever asks for it. In case a person is not given the job within 15 days of the demand, he is entitled to a daily unemployment allowance of not less than one-fourth the wage rate for the first 30 days. However, the ground reality is that the labourers are routinely turned away when they approach their sarpanch on the pretext of non-availability of work without any assurance of unemployment allowance. And when an isolated case of unemployment allowances being given to workers is reported, it makes news.

This lack of awareness about the various provisions of the Act among workers is the primary reason for its wilful violation. The ignorance is exploited by the sarpanch and the panchyat samiti officials, who pocket the money that rightfully belongs to the workers. If the workers are made aware of their rights they will not take no for an answer from their sarpanch. While it is not clear how much money the government spends on the publicity of the scheme, it certainly is aware of the gaping need of the same.

In the vision statement for MNREGA for 2010-11, the rural development ministry notes ‘lack of awareness’ as a major constraint in ‘ensuring the workers exercise their right to obtain work’.

If the government is serious about weeding out the hurdles to the successful implementation of the Act, it needs to ensure the workers are made aware of the various provisions of the Act through advertisements, street plays, community radio and TV. As and when that happens, workers being paid unemployment allowance will certainly not make it to the news.