Karmashree Prakalpa in West Bengal

GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGAL
PANCHAYATS & RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Joint Administrative Building (6th to 10th Floors), HC-7, Sector-III
Bidhannagar, Kolkata:- 700106

No. 1140PRD-33011/1/2024-MGNREGA SEC Date: 07.03.2024

NOTIFICATION

The Governor is pleased hereby to make the following scheme regulating all rural unskilled workers, who are registered under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS through Job Cards, are eligible to get employment under the scheme “Karmashree” through various departmental works.

1. Short title and commencement:

(A) This Scheme may be called “Karmashree”.

(B) It shall be come into force with the effect from the date of issuance of this Notification.

2. Definition:

In this scheme, unless the context otherwise requires-

a) “Work” means a project or activity executed by any Department of the State Government

b) “Implementing Agency” or “Implementing Authority” means an Officer or a body under the Department which is entrusted with execution of any work of that Department

c) “Contractor/ Agency” refers to a person or an organisation lawfully engaged by the implementing authority for execution of any work on certain terms and conditions.

d) “Department” – Any department of the government executing schemes where unskilled labourers can be engaged.

e) All other terms referred to in the guidelines will have their usual meanings.

3. Objective:

The objective of Karmashree scheme is to provide at least 50 (fifty) days of wage employment to each Job Card holder household in a financial year, through various works implemented by different Departments of the State Government.

4. Area of implementation of the scheme:

The Karmashree scheme (hereinafter referred to as ‘scheme’) will be implemented in the entire area of the State of West Bengal.

5. Eligibility:

All rural unskilled workers, who are registered under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS through Job Cards, are eligible to get employment under the scheme. In case any unskilled worker is willing to get employment under the scheme but does not possess Job Card, he shall be issued a Job Card following prescribed procedure so that the person can get employment.

6. Identification of works & preparation of Annual Action Plan:

(1) The scheme envisages-

(a) The Job Card holders will be engaged in different developmental works of the Departments of the State Government where there is scope of engagement of unskilled workers. Departmental works will include the works taken up by the Department itself and also by different statutory and administrative bodies, parastatals under that Department.

(b) Each Department will thus prepare an Annual Action Plan for the scheme with month-wise break-up of proposed person days to be generated. In the month of February of each year, every Department will assess the scope of taking up different developmental works by it in the next Financial Year keeping in mind the activities of the Department during current Financial Year and future scope for the next Fiscal. A target for employment generation for the next Financial Year will be given to each Department by the State Level Task Force and on the basis of both the scope for next year and the target, tentative total persondays of employment that can be provided to the wage-seekers in the coming financial year will be assessed by the Department. The Departments will set monthly target of person days to be generated depending upon the month-wise works that can be taken up and persons that can be employed in those works.

(c) On the basis of the annual action plan prepared by each Department, the Panchayats & Rural Development Department will prepare the annual action plan for a financial year by first fortnight of March of the previous financial year.

7. Demand for work:

(a) The unskilled workers seeking employment under the scheme will apply before the Gram Panchayat or Block Development Office in a specified Work Demand Form (Annexure-I) and demand for a maximum fourteen days’ work at a stretch. While receiving Work Demand Form from wage-seekers, proper receipt shall be given.

(b) The Gram Panchayat or Block Development Office will maintain a Demand & Allocation Register (Annexure-II) containing Gram-Panchayat-wise list of workers demanding job and their Job Card & Aadhaar details.

(c) On the basis of demand placed by a worker, he/she can be engaged for a maximum period of 14 (fourteen days) at a stretch in any departmental work. The Job Card holder can submit demands subsequently for future employment and in that case, work will be given to the job seeker as per the feasibility.

8. Mandatory engagement of Job Card holders:

a) Job Card holders shall be mandatorily be engaged in the Departmental works where rural unskilled workers can be engaged. For this, the Departments shall direct various implementing agencies under its fold to incorporate suitable clause in the tender documents as well as in work orders to make it a mandatory clause.

b) The contractor/ agency executing the work shall also furnish a certificate after completion of work that only Job Card holders were engaged for unskilled works during execution. The certificate shall be countersigned by the Departmental official directly supervising the work. Scrutiny of such certificate will be done by departmental officials before making payment against works.

9. Procedure of engagement of job Card holders in Departmental works:

(a) Once work order is issued by the implementing agency, supervising officer of the Department shall intimate the District Nodal Officer (MGNREGS) about the number of workers required to be engaged on daily basis for the next 14 days in a Labour Requirement Format (Annexure-III).

(b) The unskilled labour requirement can be sent to the District Nodal Officer (MGNREGS) for a maximum period of fourteen days at a stretch. Subsequently requirement shall be placed to next fortnight and so on. The requirement shall be submitted at least Seven days before the starting of the work or Seven days before next requirements, after successive fourteen days periods.

(c) On receiving intimation of such requirement, the District Nodal Officer (MGNREGS) will send it to the BDO concerned, who will assign workers of the Gram Panchayat, where work is being taken up, from the Demand Register on first-come-first-served basis as per date of application. However, due priority will be given to SC/ ST and Women workers if they are suitable for the said work or project.

(d) Normally one wage-seeker from a household should be given employment at a time so that maximum number of households can be covered.

(e) The assignment of Job Card holders for particular work will be completed three days before the starting of work or three days prior to successive requirements as the case may be and this assignment shall be intimated to the implementing agency of the Department by the BDO as per format prescribed in Annexure-IV.

(f) The implementing agency, on receiving the intimation of assignment of wage-seekers, will communicate the same to the contractor/ agency instructing him to engage the said wage-seekers in the proposed work.

(g) The BDO shall, through the MGNREGS set-up of Block and Gram-Panchayat, intimate the wage-seekers in writing (as per format in Annexure V) about their assignment in a work and shall ask them to report for the work at the site on the proposed dates with Job card. It is necessary to ensure presence of the workers at the worksite and execution of unskilled work by them so that work is not affected due to non-availability of required number of workers.

(h) Allocation of work to the wage-seekers shall be recorded in the Demand & Allocation Register by the BDO (as per format in Annexure-II).

10. Execution of works:

The departmental work, including taking of measurement of works done by the unskilled workers, shall be executed by the implementing agency as per relevant guidelines of the respective Department and Finance Department, as is presently done.

11. Wage to the workers:

Payment of wage to the Job Card holders engaged in a work will be made by the contractor/ agency as per existing guidelines of the respective administrative Department, other guidelines of the State Government as well as the terms and conditions mentioned in the tender document and the work order. Provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 read with relevant Rules framed by the Government of West Bengal will be applicable in respect of the workers engaged for the execution of the works. As such, the minimum rate of wages to be provided to the workers will be governed by the notifications published by the Labour Department from time to time in this regard.

12. Record-keeping of employment provided to unskilled workers:

a) At the time of issuance of work order to the contractor /agency, the implementing agency will issue an Employment Sheet (as per format in Annexure-VI), in which the persondays of work provided to each worker, amount paid as unskilled wage etc. shall be recorded.

b) These filled-in Employment Sheets will be collected by the implementing agency of the Department from the contractor/ agency every 14 days. After completion of work, the certificate (as per format in Annexure-VII) that he has engaged only Job card holders, where unskilled workers were required in the work, shall also be submitted by the contractor/ agency.

c) On the basis of the filled-in Employment Sheets, Officer of the Departments in each district will aggregate the reports of engagement of Job Cards holders by their implementing agencies in that district in a fortnight and furnish the aggregated report (Annexure-VIII) to the District Magistrate and the Head of the Department concerned.

d) Panchayats & Rural Dev. Department will collect the information of engagement of Job Card holders by the department on fortnightly basis and compile the reports.

13. Scheme management through Portal:

a) Various activities relating to the engagement of Job Card holders in the departmental works will be monitored through a Portal to be maintained by the Panchayats & Rural Development.

b) Appropriate provisions will be made in the Portal and the Departments as well as the districts will be oriented on use of the portal.

14. Provision of Fund:

(a) As the works will be executed by different Departments out of fund received from State budgetary resources or other available sources, no separate fund will be required for implementation of the works.

(b) For running various activities related to this scheme at different tiers, administrative contingency fund, as may be allotted by the Finance Department, will be provided to District Administration from time to time.

15. Administrative arrangement by the Departments:

(a) Departments will engage one Nodal Officer at the Department level (not below the rank of Joint Secretary) and senior-most Officer of that Department at each district or the Officer next to him as Nodal Officer for that district for overall co-ordination at State and district levels respectively.

(b) Contractors/ agencies shall be properly oriented about the objective of the State Government of providing employment to the Job card holders and shall be sensitised to engage Job Card holders where unskilled work is required.

16. Monitoring & Supervision:

(a) Block Development Officers will play the pivotal role in providing employment at the ground level in coordination with the other Department Officers.

(b) District Nodal Officer (MGNREGS) will co-ordinate between the Department Offices of the Districts and the BDOs and thereby ensure proper tie-up with regard to providing unskilled workers to the contractors/ agencies. He will also make overall co-ordination in respect of scheme implementation at district level through the Officers & staffs of MGNREGS at different tiers of the district.

(c) District Magistrate will remain overall in-charge of implementation of the programme in the district. One Additional District Magistrate will function as nodal ADM for the scheme. For monitoring and supervision of implementation of the scheme, there shall be a District-level Committee with the following officials.

(d) Panchayats and Rural Development Department shall function as Nodal Department for implementation of the scheme. A State-level monitoring committee will be constituted with the following members:

(e) A State-level Task Force headed by the Chief Secretary and comprising the heads of different Departments will be constituted for overall supervision and taking policy decisions. Secretary, P&RD Dept. will act as member secretary of the committee. The Task Force will meet in each quarter of a financial year to review the progress and take appropriate decisions for smooth implementation of the scheme.

17. Public Grievance Management:

a) For redressal of grievances relating to the engagement of Job Card holders under the scheme, complaints may be filed at the Office of the District Magistrate, Sub-divisional Officer and Block Dev. Officer.

b) All such complaints shall be enquired and appropriate action shall be taken by the respective heads of Office for redressal of the grievance. Proper documentation, including maintenance of complaint register, shall also be made at each of these three level.

c) All the modes of receiving complaints such as written complaints, emails, public grievance portal etc. will be available for the citizens to register their grievance. However, complaints relating to implementation of the works will be dealt with by the respective Departmental Officers as per their established procedure.

18. Documentation:

a) Whereas various documents related to execution of works will be maintained by the implementing agency including the details of engagement of Job card holders in the works.

b) The Block Development Officer and the District Nodal Officer (MGNREGS) will maintain the records available to them relating to different works where Job card holders are engaged.

c) All the relevant documents will be preserved properly for further scrutiny or audit.

19. Training & orientation:

For smooth implementation of the scheme, proper orientation of the officials and persons associated with the scheme will be required. Hence a detailed training plan will be developed for better implementation:

(a) As Block Development Officers and the officials of MGNREGS set-up at all level will co-ordinate the entire matter of engagement of workers at their respective levels, hence they shall be properly orientated about different aspects of the scheme. Similarly GP level officials also will be oriented on schemes being implemented and demand generation.

(b) The Departments will arrange for orientation of the implementing agencies about the mandatory provision of engagement of Job card holders in their works and procedural steps to be followed for ensuring it under this scheme. The district administration will co-ordinate such orientation programmes at district and lower levels.

(c) As mentioned earlier, the contractors/ agencies executing the works shall also be adequately sensitised and oriented about the provisions of the scheme through pre-bid meetings or otherwise.

20. Information Education & Communication Activities:

(a) Wide publicity will be given by the District Magistrates for awareness of the rural unskilled workers about different aspects of the scheme, scope of their employment through the scheme and steps to be taken by the workers to get employment under the scheme.

(b) For awareness generation, suitable publicity materials will be developed which will be used for wide display and during orientation of the workers mentioned above.

21. IT Intervention:

a) Various activities relating to the engagement of Job card holders in the departmental works will be monitored through a Portal to be maintained by the Panchayats & Rural Development Department.

b) For this existing Portal of the Department used for capturing the engagement of workers by the Departments will be suitably modified and appropriate new provision’s will be made in the portal as per guidelines of the scheme.

c) MIS reports will be generated for inter departmental coordination and District Administration. Also the Officers of the Departments at district level and the administrative Officer of the Districts will be given orientation on use of the Portal.

22. Special provisions:

(a) Work in Municipality area: It happens in many cases that for execution of works in Municipality areas, unskilled workers from neighbouring rural areas are engaged. To streamline the matter, District Magistrate will entrust neighbouring BDO of any Municipality who, on getting requirement from any implementing agency through the District Nodal Officer for any work, will provide Job Card holder workers for that work. Also, as there are other unskilled workers in Municipality area, the mandatory provision of engagement of Job card holders for municipality area will not be applicable and the implementing agencies will engage them to the extent possible.

(b) Engagement of workers from outside the districts: For certain types of works by some Departments, unskilled workers from some districts are engaged. In those cases, the said workers shall possess the Job cards and instead of sending requisition for workers, the implementing agency shall intimate the names and other details of the workers engaged to the Block Development Officer for keeping proper record in Demand & Allocation Register.

It has concurrence of the Finance Department vide its UO No. Gr-R/2023-2024/0362 dated: 05.03.2024.

By order of the Governor,

Sd/- P. ULAGANATHAN
Secretary to the Government of West Bengal
Panchayats & Rural Development Department

No. 1140-PRD dated 07.03.2024, Source