MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 aims at enhancing the livelihood security of the people in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of wage-employment in a financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
With the objective of introducing greater transperancy in the scheme as also to make its implentation more customer centric, the Government decided that the wage payment to NREGA beneficiaries shall hence forth be done through Banks and Post Offices only.
The progress as regards implementation of the scheme by the Banks and Post Offices in Chhattisgarh has been encouraging. The total number of accounts of NREGA beneficiaries, opened by Banks and Post Offices in Chhattisgarh as at the end of FY 2008-09 and FY 2009-10 are as under-
| FY 2008-09 | FY 2009-10 | |
| Post Offices* | 24.24 lacs | 34.11 lacs |
| Banks* | 17.73 lacs | 22.62 lacs |
| Total | 41.97 | 56.73 |
| *Source: NREGA website nrega.nic.in | ||
The total number of accounts opened for NREGA beneficiaries by the Post Offices and Banks in Chhattisgarh has increased from 41.97 lacs as at the end of March 2009 to 56.73 lacs as at the end of March , 2010 representing a growth of 14.76 lacs accounts.
The progress made by the Banks in smooth implementation of NREGA in the State, besides being reviewed in Quarterly SLBC Meetings, is also reviewed in the Monthly Special SLBC Meetings.
The key initiatives taken by the Banks in the State to ensure effective implementation of the scheme are as under-
- Introduction of the Revised Cheque Collection Process to ensure early payment of wages to NREGA beneficiaries
- Launching the Mobile Banking concept with the objective to provide wage payments to NREGA beneficiaries at a place near their residence
- Sensitizing the operating bank branch functionaries to extend the best customer services to the NREGA beneficiaries frequenting the branches for opening of accounts/ doinf transactions in their accounts.
- Opening the accounts of and making wage payments to the NREGA beneficiaries by the IT based Business Correspondent (BC) Model.
| S.No | District | Bank | Business Correspondent |
| 1 | Raipur | SBI | Zero Mass |
| 2 | Dantewara | SBI | Zero Mass |
| 3 | Bastar | SBI | Zero Mass |
| 4 | North Bastar Kanker | SBI | Zero Mass |
| 5 | Kabirdham | Axis Bank | FINO |
| 6 | Dhamtari | Axis Bank | FINO |
| 7 | Rajnandgaon | Punjab National Bank | FINO |
| 8 | Korba | Union Bank of India | Zero Mass |
| 9 | Surguja | Central Bank of India | Zero Mass |
| 10 | Durg | Dena Bank | FINO |
The Member Banks are requested to sensitize the operating functionaries to continue to implement all works relating to NREGA with Priority and ensure that the Governments' directives on the subject are complied with.
