Works and their Execution

Para 4(1), Schedule I provides provision for the following works under MGNREGA:

Category A : Public Works Relating to Natural Resources Management

• Water conservation and water harvesting structures to augment and improve groundwater like underground dykes, earthen dams, stop dams, check dams with special focus on recharging groundwater including drinking water sources;
• Watershed management works such as contour trenches, terracing, contour bunds, boulder checks, gabion structures and springshed development resulting in a comprehensive treatment of a watershed;
• Micro and minor irrigation works and creation, renovation and maintenance of irrigation canals and drains;
• Renovation of traditional water bodies including desilting of irrigation tanks and other water bodies;
• Afforestation, tree plantation and horticulture in common and forest lands, road margins, canal bunds, tank foreshores and coastal belts duly providing right to usufruct to the households covered in Paragraph 5; and
• Land development works in common land.

Category B : Individual Assets for Vulnerable Sections (Only for Households in Paragraph 5 of Schedule I)

• Improving productivity of lands of households specified in Paragraph5 through land development and by providing suitable infrastructure for irrigation including dug wells, farm ponds and other water harvesting structures;
• Improving livelihoods through horticulture, sericulture, plantation, and farm forestry;
• Development of fallow or wastelands of households defined in Paragraph 5 of the Schedule I to bring it under cultivation;
• Unskilled wage component in construction of houses sanctioned under the Awaas Yojana or such other State or Central Government Scheme;
• Creating infrastructure for promotion of livestock such as, poultry shelter, goat shelter, piggery shelter, cattle shelter and fodder troughs for cattle; and
• Creating infrastructure for promotion of fisheries such as, fish drying yards, storage facilities, and promotion of fisheries in seasonal water bodies on public land;

Category C : Common Infrastructure for DAY -NRLM Compliant Self-Help Groups

• Works for promoting agricultural productivity by creating durable infrastructure required for bio-fertilisers and post-harvest facilities including pucca storage facilities for agricultural produce; and
• Common worksheds for livelihood activities of self-help groups.

Category D : Rural Infrastructure

• Rural sanitation related works, such as, individual household latrines, school toilet units, Anganwadi toilets either independently or in convergence with schemes of other Government Departments to achieve ‘open defecation free’ status. and solid and liquid waste management as per prescribed norms;
• Providing all-weather rural road connectivity to unconnected villages and to connect identified rural production centres to the existing pucca road network; and construction of pucca internal roads or streets including side drains and culverts within a village;
• Construction of play fields;
• Works for improving disaster preparedness or restoration of roads or restoration of other essential public infrastructure including flood control and protection works, providing drainage in water-logged areas, deepening and repairing of flood channels, chaur renovation, construction of storm water drains for coastal protection;
• Construction of buildings for Gram Panchayats, women self-help groups’ federations, cyclone shelters, anganwadi centres, village haats and crematoria at the village or block level;
• Construction of Food Grain Storage Structures for implementing the provisions of The National Food Security Act 2013 (20 of 2013);
• Production of building material required for construction works under the Act.
• Maintenance of rural public assets created under the Act; and
• Any other work which may be notified by the Central Government in consultation with the State Government in this regard.

Individual farmer’s land

Individual farmer’s land can be developed under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS. Works creating individual assets shall be prioritised on land or homestead owned by households belonging to :

• Scheduled Castes
• Scheduled Tribes
• Nomadic tribes
• Denotified tribes
• Other families below the poverty line
• Women-headed households
• Physically handicapped headed households
• Beneficiaries of land reforms
• The beneficiaries under the Housing schemes
• Beneficiaries under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (2 of 2007).

After exhausting the eligible beneficiaries under the above categories, on lands of the small or marginal farmers as defined in the Agriculture Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme, 2008 subject to the condition that such households shall have a job card with at least one member willing to work on the project undertaken on their land or homestead.

Individual farmer’s land that is to be developed under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA should be treated as a project with the following conditions.

• The individual land owner shall be a job card holder and also work in the project and the proposed activity should be part of annual shelf of projects.
• All projects to be executed under MGNREGA have to be approved by Gram Sabha.
• No contractor shall be involved in the execution of work.
• No labour displacing machinery shall be used in the execution of work.
• No labour displacing machinery shall be purchased / hired.

Negative works

The works which are not included in the list of permissible works and works which are non-tangible, not measurable, non-quantifiable, repetitive such as removing grass, pebbles, agricultural operation are not permitted.

• Works which are non-tangible, not measurable, non-quantifible repetitive such as, removing grass, pebbles, agricultural operations, shall not be taken up.
• Works like boulder pebble or shrub removal silt application and similar activities are not as a stand-alone activities. However, these can be a part of tasks in projects for converting uncultivable/barren/fallow lands into cultivable lands through one time land development activities.
• Agriculture inputs and agriculture operations are not allowed. Removal of weeds and watering may be considered only for forestry plantation and horticulture limited for a duration of 2-3 years. This should also be a part of the consolidated project to be assisted under MGNREGA.
• Expenditure incurred to finance non-permissible activities will be recovered from the person responsible for such expenses.
• Execution of pilot activity under MGNREGA is discouraged. However, pilots using MGNREGA funds, involving only a few Panchayats could be taken up only upon approval of the Ministry.
• MGNREGS funds cannot be used for land acquisition.
• Specified criteria to be followed while executing dug wells under MGNREGA.

Registers to be maintained under MGNREGA

Muster rolls (MR)

As per Schedule I, Para 15, the muster rolls are to be maintained as given below:

• Every muster roll shall be signed by the authorised person of the Gram Panchayat or by the Programme Officer; and shall contain such mandatory information as may be specified by the Central Government;
• Each muster roll shall be in English or local language and have a unique identity number electronically generated by the computer system (e-Muster) along with the list of workers applied for work;
• Muster rolls shall be maintained at the worksite by marking attendance daily by a person authorised under the Scheme, details of which shall be made available in public view on a daily basis using the computer system;
• The muster roll shall be periodically checked by officials in the manner prescribed in the Scheme;
• The muster roll shall be closed on the last given day, countersigned by every worker who has worked, and shall be handed over to the technical personnel for measurement;
• A detailed record of muster rolls shall be maintained in the registers as specified from time to time;
• When a work is in progress, the workers engaged in that work may select from amongst themselves not less than five workers on a weekly rotational basis to verify and certify all the bills or vouchers of their worksite at least once in a week;
• Any person shall have access to muster rolls on the worksite on demand all days during all working hours.

Source : FAQs of MGNREGA operational guidelines - 2013