Of the 69 lakh families in Jharkhand, 36 lakh - that's just over 50 per cent - are below the poverty line.
Launched in 2005 by the UPA government, the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act was intended to help the poor by promising 100 days of work a year to rural households at a pre-determined minimum wage rate. In the last decade, there has been mixed opinion on the success of the initiative. But in the last few months, the central government has said it has plans to modify this act. For now, with the focus away from the scheme, the implementation in many states is suffering more than ever.
Of the 69 lakh families in Jharkhand, 36 lakh - that's just over 50 per cent - are below the poverty line, making Jharkhand one of the poorest states in India. In the Angada village near capital Ranchi, 30 of 40 households are Below Poverty Line, meaning a rural jobs scheme like the NREGA could have been very handy here.
And yet, in home after home, the story of NREGA is one of total collapse. Munna Karmali is a part-time rickshaw puller in Ranchi. Three months ago, he managed to get work under NREGA for three weeks. But Munna and everyone else who has worked on NREGA jobs in the last six months here, say they have not been paid a single rupee by the Jharkhand government.
"I worked for three weeks but I got no money. I have to go out looking for work now," said Munna.
In Jharkhand, the rural jobs scheme has almost collapsed in the last six months. State government sources say they are completely out of cash to make wage payments, and need at least Rs 400 crore from the Centre urgently. But activists in Jharkhand point out that the fault is not the Centre's alone. The Jharkhand government is supposed to send NREGA work demand reports from all districts to the Union Rural Development Ministry, something that hasn't been done in the last few months.
"The problem with Jharkhand is that it has no money of its own. The reports they had to submit to the Centre, they have not done. Without these reports the money will not be released," said social activist Ankita Agarwal.