Mis Mgnrega Synopsis

Implementation of MIS in MGNREGA
The Management Information System of MGNREGA is a way to providing data on implementation. But to
achieve complete transparency it has to overcome several shortcomings
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is not only a pioneering
livelihood security programme but also a great example of proactive disclosure of information through its
Management Information System (MIS). It is the first transaction-based real-time system for any public works
programme in the country that is available in the public domain. There has been a digitisation of all the
processes in MGNREGA right from a worker registering demand for work, to work allotment, to finally
getting wages for completed works. Another notable feature of the MIS is the availability of information
through online reports at various levels of disaggregation. This has enabled any citizen to monitor the
implementation of the programme and has consequently charted a new paradigm of transparency since the
enactment of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The sheer scale of information available on implementation is
also no mean achievement. Individual worker details from around 2.5 lakh gram panchayats are available in the
MGNREGA MIS.
The MIS is a powerful mechanism to have an evidence-based discourse for monitoring basic services. But a
governance framework for the MIS needs to be put in place that lays out the minimum standards and
accountability of the Ministry managing the system. Such a framework must be built in consultation with all
concerned parties and should follow the provisions of the law (both MGNREGA and RTI). The system design
choices should reflect the values of the worker-centric programme and hence principles need to be followed for
compassionate design. Otherwise, we fear that technology is dictating administrative choices, akin to the phrase
architecture is politics. A governance framework for the MIS needs to be put in place that lays out
accountability of the Ministry managing the system
Shortcomings
To begin with, the MIS is accessible only from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Indian Standard Time. This is a huge
impediment for collaborative work across time zones.
Second, it does not provide any data dictionary. A data dictionary is a repository of all the names of
variables/columns used in various reports, containing a brief explanation of its meanings. Such a dictionary is
crucial so that any citizen accessing the online reports can understand the content in them. As things stand,
unless somebody has spent a lot of time in rural areas, it is difficult to comprehend the details of many reports.
Third, the nomenclature of the column names in the online reports is not consistent. The same column name is
labelled differently in different reports. For instance, what is referred to as the Payment Date in the report of
weekly works (Mustroll Report) is known as the Second Signatory Date in a report titled FTO Second
Signatory. Payment Date is also a misnomer as it does not refer to the date on which a worker gets paid.
Although obfuscation of the column names may not be intentional, it nevertheless becomes excruciating for any
citizen or researcher to make meaningful sense of the reports.
Fourth, some obvious worker-centric links in the data structure are missing. For example, every household that
does MGNREGA work has a unique job card number. This number is crucial to get work. Upon completion of a
work week, a Funds Transfer Order (FTO) is generated containing the details of each job card holders earned
wages. On the MIS, there is no clear link between these two crucial pieces. As such it becomes difficult to
follow the trail of each job card holder from the time of work demanded to getting the wages.
Technological architecture can also be used to perpetuate falsehoods. For instance, consider the flawed
mechanism of the calculation of delay compensation when wages are not paid on time. Ideally, the
compensation should be calculated from the 16th day of completion of a work week till the day on which the
workers actually receive their wages. However, the compensation is computed based on the payment date,
which, as we have mentioned, is not the date on which the wages get credited into the workers accounts. The
difference of the two calculation methods run into crores of rupees that rightfully belong to the workers. While
the automated calculation is a progressive measure, its basis must be correct and transparent. The fact that even
with the flawed calculation no compensation has been paid corroborates that technology can be a strong aid but
not a replacement for accountability.

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Implementation of MIS in MGNREGA

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