The rural employment guarantee scheme may be seen as a boon to the unemployed millions in India.
But is it really going to make a difference?
According to the scheme money will be handed over to the people at the lowest economic strata, this means all payments will have to be made in cash. Cash transactions are the hardest to track if not impossible. This non-traceability of money is the Achilles heel of the act. There is no way to trace corruption at the lowest levels of Bureaucracy. In a country where corruption takes place under the very nose of the law the scheme is a possible cash cow for the corrupt. Most of those who are the beneficiaries of this scheme are the uneducated and illiterate, how difficult is it for a government official to cheat these people?
Is the scheme worth the cost? That money could be used to improve India's crumpling infrastructure.
Critics may argue that just because a few officials may be corrupt does not mean the scheme is worth the cost. Let us realise that India is one of the most corrupt nations and where corruption takes place even when one is easily caught by a money/paper trail. The corrupt will surely pounce on this scheme.
Then there is the question of why should a person who has not worked be paid? (The scheme says if the government does not provide work it will pay). This will only draw labour away from industries and the agricultural sector. Hence labour will become expensive. The agricultural sector cannot afford to pay more for labour. With a collapse of industries unemployment will soar, so this is like a chain reaction leading to more and more unemployment.
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Saturday, September 02, 2006
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme-A Different View
