Of the World Bank’s list of 621 measures across 173 countries compiled by Gentilini, Almenfi, and Dale (2020), half were cash-based. Most of the rest related to food assistance (23 per cent) or waiver/
postponement of financial obligations (25 per cent).
Only 2 per cent related to public works, a clear indication of the popularity of cash transfers over public works for income support, perhaps in part due to concerns over physical distancing during the pandemic.
But in India, as we saw earlier, the existence of MGNREGA proved to be an essential way in which income support could be delivered to vulnerable households via self-targeting. In places where MGNREGA work was not attractive to returning migrants who had been doing relatively more skilled jobs in their destination towns and cities, local communities also innovated. In Karnataka 3.6 lakh returning migrants were listed by panchayats and work was created for them in painting of schools and other such activities which are typically not part of MGNREGA.32
While MGNREGA existed in the rural areas, there was no such safety net available to urban informal workers.33 Taking this into account, several states experimented with such programmes during the pandemic. These include Odisha’s Urban Wage Employment Initiative (UWEI), Himachal Pradesh’s Mukhyamantri Shahri Aajeevika Guarantee Yojana and Jharkhand’s Mukhyamantri Shramik Yojana.
In addition, Kerala’s Ayyankali Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme has been running for a few years already and can provide some lessons for the way forward at the national level (Chathukulam et al. 2021). Box 7.1 summarizes the key features of
the new programmes as well as of the Ayyankali scheme.
A national level programme is still worth considering because the state- level schemes, even when they have been billed as job guarantees (such as in Himachal, Jharkhand, and Kerala), remain quite limited in their budgetary allocations and hence are unlikely to be true guarantees. Moreover, the state of state finances during the pandemic also make it difficult for these programmes to be expanded.34 A possible shape for a national urban employment guarantee programme has also been outlined in Basole et al (2019). We discuss this and other proposals for urban public works in Chapter Eight.
Several states experimented with urban employment programmes during
the pandemic.
Box 7.1 : State-level urban employment guarantee schemes
Odisha: Urban Wage Employment Initiative (now Mukhyamantri Karma Tatpara Abhiyan)
• Date of Operationalisation: 18th April, 2020.
• Objective: Urban poor largely in the informal sector to get immediate wages by execution of labour-intensive projects.
• Budget: Rs 100 Crore; 70:30 between wage and material cost components.
• State Agency (planning, coordination and monitoring): Housing and Urban Development Department.
• Local Agency (implementation and operations):
Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) with SHGs, SHG federations and Slum Dwellers Associations.
• Work days provision in a financial year: no maximum limit.
• Eligibility Criteria: Workers of the local area will be given preference while work allocation. Workers have to at least be from the ULB concerned.
• Implementation architecture and entitlements of workers
1. Every ULB has a Ward Level Committee to prepare a “List of Projects”. Ward Level Committee consists of representatives from Government (AE/JE), SHGs, Slum Dwellers Association.
2. Suggested list of projects prepared by the Ward Level Committee to be finalized by ULB Level Committee. This Committee will consist of representatives from Government and SHGs.
3. Implementing agency of works will be SHG/
Slum Dwellers Association if the project costs less than I1 lakh. If estimated cost is greater than I1 lakh, the implementing Agency will be the ULB.
4. Assistant Engineer/Junior Engineer is
responsible for preparing the plan and estimate of projects.
5. Final list of projects with plan and estimate shall be placed in the Council for administrative approval.
6. List of final projects in the public domain.
7. Once a work has the required approvals, Muster Rolls will be issued for the work. Muster Rolls will be maintained by the implementing agency.
Wages and Material expenses due will be credited to the implementing agency, who in turn will credit it to workers and vendors.
8. Implementing agencies will be paid a
‘supervising charge’ of 7.5 per cent of the project cost.
• Payment of Wages: Minimum wages to be notified by the Labour or ESI ministry. A DBT will be made to the beneficiary’s account on a weekly basis.
• Types of Jobs: Focus on monsoon preparedness and creation of public assets and maintenance in
Increase in green cover and beautification, sanitation, building community centres and open space development which include micro centres for SHG, Involving local artisans for beautifying cities through wall paintings and murals
• Other components include- a well-defined SOP, Workers’ rights around basic worksite facilities in terms of clean drinking water, support for child- care etc. Quality control mechanism through technology solutions for geo tagging works, performance monitoring, as well as enhanced transparency and accountability.
• Update: Original programme ended September 30th. In January 2021 expanded into Mukhyamantri Karma Tatpara Abhiyan described as ‘an urban equivalent of NREGS and wages of workers would be credited to their bank account through Direct Benefit Transfer’.35
Himachal Pradesh: Mukhya Mantri Shahri Ajeevika Guarentee Yojana (MMSAGY)
• Date of Operationalisation: 16th May, 2020.
• Objective: Enhance livelihood security in urban areas by providing guaranteed wage employment to every household.
• Budget: New funding NOT made available;
program sanctioned for the current financial year (employment to be provided in on-going works/
contracts).
• State Agency (planning, coordination and
monitoring): Department of Urban Development.
• Local Agency (implementation and operations):
Urban Local Bodies and Cantonment Boards.
• Work days provision in a financial year: 120 days per household (guarantee as well as maximum).
• Eligibility criteria: A local resident of the ULB (home-owner or renter) aged below 65 years.
• Implementation architecture and entitlements of workers-
7. Effectiveness of the Covid-19 policy response
3. After due verification, ULB will issue a job card within 7 days of registration request
4. Employment to be given to a person seeking it within 15 days of him/her demanding it. If not, ULB will pay a daily unemployment allowance of Rs 75 per day
5. All accounts and information pertaining to the scheme will be in the public domain
• Payment of Wages:
1. Minimum wage notified by the state government
2. Equal wages for male and female workers 3. DBT on fortnightly basis not later than 7 days
after completion of 15 days employment 4. To be paid after due verification of the
attendance by the Junior Engineer or any other official authorized by the ULB
5. In case of an external implementing agency contracted for work, payment made to the beneficiary will be adjusted/deducted from the bills of the implementing agency before making its payment
• Types of Jobs: Any ongoing or new admissible work under GoHP and GoI scheme for which funds are available at ULBs, Any admissible work under 15th FC or 5th State FC for which grant-in- aid is provided to the ULBs 3. Sanitation works/
services as admissible under SWM Rules 2016 and Swachh Bharat Mission
Kerala: Ayyankali Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme (AUEGS)
• Date of Operationalisation: 2011
• Objective: Enhancing the livelihood Security of people in urban area by guaranteeing wage employment to urban household whose adult members are willing to do unskilled manual work.
• Budget: I100 Crore (2020-21) vis-à-vis I30 Crore allocated for 2019-20 financial year.
• State Agency (planning, coordination and monitoring): The Local Self Government Department, the State Urban Employment Guarantee Council and the State Urban Employment Guarantee Mission.
• Local Agency (implementation and operations):
District Planning Committee, ULBs and Ward Sabha/Ward Committees.
• Work days provision in a financial year: 100 days per household
• Eligibility Criteria: Resident of the ULB, 18+ years of age and willing to do unskilled work.
• Implementation architecture and entitlements of workers-
1. Applications for registration received and verified by ULB
2. Households registered: Job-cards provided to each registered household
3. Households having job cards registering demand for work with ULB
4. Dated acknowledgement slip provided for each demand for work application
5. Work to be provided within 15 days of demand for application being submitted
6. If work not provided within 15 days of being sought- applicant eligible for unemployment allowance as per Payment of Wages Act 7. Workers to be provided work within a radius of
5km from residence
8. Worksite facilities to include water, child care and first aid facilities
9. Men and Women workers paid equally 10. Wages to be paid within 15 days
• Payment of Wages-
1. All workers (men and women) are entitled to the notified wage rate of I271 (increase to I300 is pending approval)
2. Wages should be paid within a week or fifteen days at the most through DBT
3. Funds released to ULB in advance to implement
• Types of Jobs: Solid waste management and sanitation works, water conservation and water harvesting for enhanced water Security (recharge pits, well construction, recharging), land development, drought-proofing and flood management, afforestation, construction works under various state and central housing schemes, works around livestock management, fisheries, irrigation of canals, micro irrigation and rural
road construction, coastal area works such as construction of fish drying yards, Anganwadi buildings.
• Other components: (A) Strong workers’ rights (B) Quality control mechanism both through social audits at ward levels as well as monitoring of works at ULB, regional, and state level (monitoring of 100 per cent, 10 per cent, and per cent works respectively) (C) Well-defined SOP (D) Phase- wise disbursement of funds to ULBs based on set milestones of expenditure
Jharkhand: Mukhya Mantri Shahri Rozgar Guarantee Yojana
• Date of Operationalisation: 2nd October, 2020
• Objective: To provide 100 days of guaranteed employment to families residing in urban areas and willing to do unskilled manual work.
• Budget: Rs 100 crore (2020-21).
• State Agency (planning, coordination and monitoring): Urban Development Department
• Local Agency (implementation and operations):
Urban Local Bodies.
• Work days provision in a financial year: 100 days per households.
• Eligibility Criteria: Workers living in urban areas since 2015, workers who have been living in shelter homes since three years, workers should not be having a MGNREGA job card.
• Implementation architecture and entitlements of workers-
1. Implementing agency is Urban Development Department and the head of the civic body will be the nodal officer
2. Every ward to prepare an “Integrated Annual Labour Plan/Scheme” by January of every year 3. It will be the responsibility of the implementing
agency to provide information related to ongoing schemes in wards and person-days of work required per scheme with the ward
Sabha, it will have to be endorsed by the civic body concerned
6. One “Community Resource Person” will be appointed for 2 wards to demand registration of work, provide information pertaining to work allocation, and receive grievances by workers.
7. A transaction based MIS will govern the implementation of the programme, and it shall be public
8. Ward will be responsible for identifying all eligible families/workers and ensure that they are provided with a job card, bank account and to help them in accessing benefits from other schemes that they are eligible for
9. Workers can demand for work, individually and as a group, in writing or orally and have a right to receive a dated acknowledgement slip 10. All worksites should have the following
facilities: water, first-aid, creche, shade
11. Work should be provided within the ward that the worker resides in. If not the same ward, the worker has to be allocated to work at a worksite within 2km of the place of residence and travel allowance up to 10% of the wage is payable
• Payment of Wages-
1. Workers are entitled to state minimum wage to be credited to their bank accounts within 15 days of completion of work.
2. Unemployment allowance to workers for not receiving work within 15 days of demanding it.
3. If wages are delayed, the worker is entitled to compensation which is recovered from the official found to be the cause of delay.
• Types of Jobs: Cleaning of drains, roads, parks, market, bus stands, public toilets, rain water harvesting activities, afforestation, construction repair, road repair, painting, laying of cables, restoration of footpaths and cycle paths,
protecting drinking water source, surveying work,
7. Effectiveness of the Covid-19 policy response