Department proposed to issue Smart Card for NREGS beneficieries

NEW DELHI: The department of posts plans to introduce electronic cards for payment to beneficiaries under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) to make disbursal of funds under the scheme completely paperless and check financial irregularities.

The government is also planning to open zero-deposit post office savings accounts for beneficiaries of NREGA as well as other social sector schemes. There are about 1.55 lakh post offices in the country which operate small savings schemes.

The proposal aims at helping illiterate workers get their money under the scheme with ease without getting into the trouble of completing forms and procedural hassles.

“Introducing smart cards will ensure that the poor and illiterate workers do not lose out on their wages because of their inability to properly follow the payment procedures and the documentation required,” said an official in the ministry of communications and information technology.

Initially, the electronic cards will be available to workers on a voluntary basis. Depending on its success, it will be gradually rolled out to all beneficiaries of the scheme.

To facilitate ease of use for the illiterate customers, a summary of the transactions will be read aloud in their local vernacular language as an assurance that they have received the requested amount, the official said.

The proposal follows government’s recent decision to make disbursal of funds under the scheme biometric enabled. The twin proposals are expected to bring greater transparency and improve the effectiveness of the UPA’s flagship scheme, which has often been criticised for its lack of proper implementation and revenue leakages.

A review of NREGA, now called Mahatma Gandhi NREGA, by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India last year reflected several flaws in the maintenance of records and money disbursed, leading to questions on effective of the scheme.

The ministry of rural development is also working towards putting in place a system of biometric identification of eligible workers under the scheme.

The biometric database of NREGA workers, which is aimed at bringing more transparency in the implementation of the scheme, will also be shared with Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).