In 2008-09 the expenditure on MNREGA in Rajasthan was Rs 6175 crore. And in 2009-10, it came down to Rs 5600 crores. In 2010-2011, it further came down to Rs 3300 crores. And in 2011-2012, it has been reduced to Rs 2600 crores.
A Community Score Card report points out that the Rajasthan government could utilise only 50 per cent of the total labour budget demanded for the Financial Year 2010-11, while it was as high as 64 per cent in 2008-2009.
Social activist Nikhil Dey said, "As a result, we have seen Rs 7000 crore from the the money for MNREGA being cut down in the Central Budget. They are saying there's no demand, which is not true! A lifeline for the poor is under threat by its own machinery not delivering."
So why is the Rajasthan government neglecting its own flagship programme? Social activists say the inbuilt transparency and accountability safeguards in the MNREGA Act are leading to governments developing cold feet. In Rajasthan, no action has been taken against those exposed by RTI applications.
Mangalaram, who was beaten up brutally in Barmer last year allegedly for trying to expose corruption in MNREGA is still to recover but no one has been booked yet.
More recently, on February 2, Dhularam from Bikaner was beaten up for using the RTI and exposing irregularities in MNREGA. He's still under treatment, but no action has been taken against the accused yet.
Social activist Aruna Roy said, "The reason they are diluting this programme is they do not want transparency and accountability... neither the political bosses nor the bureaucrats."
On one hand the numbers clearly show that MNREGA is dying a slow death in Congress-ruled Rajasthan. On the other hand, the government says people do not want work - this is something the activists feel is just a cover up for its inadequacy in implementing the programme that comes with in built mechanisms of transparency and accountability.
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