Draft Report on study of SORs

The Study of Schedule of Rates forNational Rural Employment

Guarantee Scheme(Draft Report)

Sponsored byDepartment of Rural Development

Ministry of Rural DevelopmentGovernment of India

V.V. Giri National Labour InstituteSector 24, Noida (U.P.)

Poonam S. ChauhanM.M. RehmanShashi Tomar

Research Team

The Study of Schedule of Rates forNational Rural Employment

Guarantee Scheme

Acknowledgement Research Study Status: Objectives, Scope & Outcome .. i viii Executive Summary ix xvi List of Tables List of Maps

Chapter One

Introduction Prologue . 1 - 5 Objectives . 6 - 6 Scope . 6 - 7 Methodology .. 7 - 8 Area of the Study 8 - 9 Sample 9 - 9 Duration of the Study . 9 - 9 Limitations of the Study . 9 - 10 Study Design .. 10 - 11

Chapter Two

Schedule of Rates under NREGS Introduction . 12 - 14 Measurement of Work and Schedule of Rates ... 14 - 15 Profile of Schedule of Rates in Selected States .. 15 - 17 Responsibilities of the Committee .. 17 - 17 Andhra Pradesh ... 17 - 18 Tamil Nadu . 18 - 18 West Bengal 18 - 18 Bihar .... 18 - 18 Rajasthan . 18 - 18 Gujarat . 19 - 19 Madhya Pradesh .. 19 - 19 Uttar Pradesh ... 19 - 19 Schedule of Rates for Works under NREGS: Andhra Pradesh 20 - 27 Schedule of Rates for works under NREGS:

Bihar ................... 28 - 31 Schedule of Rates for works under NREGS:

Gujarat . ... 32 - 39 Schedule of Rates for works under NREGS:

Madhya Pradesh .............. 40 - 56 Schedule of Rates for works under NREGS:

List of Contents

Rajasthan ..... 57 - 63 Schedule of Rates for works under NREGS:

Tamil Nadu ......... 64 - 75 Schedule of Rates for Works under NREGS:

Uttar Pradesh 76 - 83 Schedule of Rates for Works under NREGS: West Bengal. 84 - 90

Chapter Three

Periodicity and Process of Notifying Minimum Wages for AgriculturalLabourers in Selected States

Introduction . 91 - 93 Method of Fixation of Minimum Wages 93 - 94 Basis of Fixing Minimum Wages ... 94 - 96 Process of notification and periodicity of revision.. 96 - 98 Andhra Pradesh: Minimum Wages . 98 -102 Bihar: Minimum Wages .. 103-104 Gujarat: Minimum Wages 105-107 Madhya Pradesh: Minimum Wages . 108-108 Rajasthan: Minimum Wages 109-109 Tamil Nadu: Minimum Wages 110-110 Uttar Pradesh: Minimum Wages . 111-111 West Bengal: Minimum Wages .. 112-120 Note . 121-129

Chapter Four

Beneficiary Point of View : Andhra Pradesh Introduction . 130-130 Age Profile .. 130-131 Gender Profile . 131-131 Social Profile ... 131-132 Income Profile . 132-133 Work types ... 133-133 Employment Periodicity .. 133-134 Working Days .. 134-135 Monthly Income ... 135-136 Work details . 136-137 Daily working hours 137-137 Task profile . 138-139 Wage paid 139-140 Enhancement in local wages other than NREGS 140-140 Increase in wages 141-141 Wage received under NREGS 141-142 Wage before NREGS . 142-143

Chapter Five

Beneficiary Point of View: Bihar Introduction . 144-144 Age profile .. 144-145 Gender Profile 146-146 Caste profile 146-147 Income profile 148-149 Number of working days 149-150 Total income from NREGS and other activities 150-151 Wages earned . 151-152 Standard wage 152-152 Working hours 153-153 Whether faced any problem 154-154 Types of problems .. 154-155 Family members engaged 155-156 Increase of wages in other occupations .. 157-158

Chapter Six

Beneficiary Point of View : Gujarat Introduction . 159-159 Age Profile .. 159-160 Gender Profile . 160-161 Caste Profile 161-162 Family Size .. 163-163 Income Profile . 163-164 Working days .. 165-165 Income of the respondents who worked under NREGS . 166-166 Daily wage .. 167-167 Standard wages 167-168 Tasks in which respondents were engaged .. 168-169 Working hours . 169-170 Work proportion .. 170-171 Problems faced . 171-171 Type of problems . 172-172 Involvement of family members .. 172-173 Increase in wages in other occupations Than NREGS 173-174 Wage rise .. 174-175

Chapter Seven

Beneficiary Point of View : Madhya Pradesh Introduction 176-176 Age Profile . 176-177 Gender Profile 177-177 Income Profile . 178-178 Source of information .. 178-179 Registration: Relating to NREGS 179-180 Selection process . 180-180 Works performed . 181-181 Period between applying and availing employment 181-182 No. of days worked under NREGS .. 182-183 Income received under NREGS ... 183-184 Cubic meter performed . 184-185 Tasks performed ... 185-186 Proper wage .. 186-187 Increase in wages .. 187-187 Amount of Increase in wages in other occupations ... 188-188 Wage under NREGS .. 188-189 Earning before NREGS . 189-190 Problems faced .. 190-190 Type of problems faced . 191-191 Suggestions 191-192

Chapter Eight

Beneficiary Point of View : Rajasthan Introduction 193-193 Age profile . 193-194 Gender profile 194-194 Social profile .. 194-195 Income profile 195-196 Working days . 196-197 Income under NREGS 197-198 Wages under NREGS . 198-199 Wage received under NREGS 199-199 Work performed . 200-200 Working hours 201-201 Problems . 201-202 Type of problems 202-203 Wage increase . 203-204 Wage increase in other activities 204-204

Chapter NineBeneficiary Point of View: Uttar Pradesh

Introduction . 205-205 Age profile of the beneficiaries ... 205-206 Gender profile . 206-206 Social profile ... 207-207 Income profile . 207-208 Types of work performed 208-208 Employment received after application .. 208-209 Working hours 209-209 No. of working days ... 210-210 Total earning .. 211-211 Proper wages .. 212-212 Enhancement of wages .. 212-213 Wage increment . 213-213 Increase in wages ... 213-214 Mode of payment ... 214-214 Increase in NREGS wages . 215-215 Daily wages earned before NREGS ... 215-216 Problems faced by respondents .. 216-216 Suggestions . 217-217 Gender profile: District Unnao 218-218 Gender profile . 218-218 Social profile 219-219 Income profile .. 219-219 Type of tasks performed 220-220 Employment received after application . 220-221 Type of tasks in employment was obtained .. 221-222 Total employment days . 222-222 Whether proper wages received 223-223 Enhancement of wages . 223-223 Increase in wages in other occupation (than NREGS) . 224-224 Amount of increment in other activities in NREGS . 224-225 Wages received under NREGS tasks 225-225 Other income sources 226-226 Per day before NREGS . 226-227 Problem faced ... 227-228 Suggestions ... 228-229

Chapter TenBeneficiary Point of View: Tamil Nadu

Introduction 230-231 Gender Profile 231-232 Type of work performed . 232-232 Total Workdays under NREGS .. 233-233

Total income under NREGS ... 234-234 Task measurement .. 235-235 Work shelf .. 235-236 Wage profile ... 237-237 Wage differentials .. 237-238 Increase in wages 238-238 Daily wage before NREGS . 239-239 Beneficiaries engaged in works other than NREGS 239-240

Chapter Eleven

Beneficiary Point of View: West Bengal (Murshidabad) Introduction .. 241-241 Age profile 241-242 Gender profile .. 242-243 Type of work performed by respondents . 243-243 Time period of receiving work 243-244 Work category . 244-245 Working days ... 245-246 Proper wage payment ... 247-247 Increase in income 247-247 Enhancement in wages under NREGS .. 248-248 Extent of enhancement . 248-249 Daily wage 249-249 Other sources of income 249-249 Earning before NREGS . 250-250 Inclusion of other works 250-251

Chapter Twelve

Suggestions and Recommendations for Unified SORs and its Practice 252-271

Research Study Status: Objectives, Scope andOutcome

In the present report we have indicated the process of the study and its present

status. Along with this, we have also provided some important highlights

which emerged from the study against each of the objectives and scope

formulated for the study.

Sl.No.

Objectives ofthe study

Inputs &Process Outcomes

1. To studyprevailingSORs inselected states

Details ofSORs aspublished bythe selectedStatedGovernmentshave beencollected,tabulated andpresentedwith analysis

Reports of SORs of each of the eightselected states, namely, (i) AndhraPradesh; (2) Bihar; (3) Gujarat; (4)Madhya Pradesh; (5) Rajasthan; (6)Tamil Nadu; (7) Uttar Pradesh; and (8)and West Bengal have been presentedin Chapter Two.

All the states are following differentSORs and the range of minimum wagesvary between Rs. 80/- and Rs. 100/-.

All the States have also prepared Model

Sl.No.



Estimates for different works whichcould be taken up under NREGScheme, for example, West Bengal hasdeveloped model estimates for:

(1)Water Conservation;(2)Drought Proofing;(3) Irrigation Canal;(4)Minor Irrigation;(5)Renovation of Traditional Water

Bodies including De-silting ofTanks;

(6)Land Development on Commonland;

(7)Flood Protection/Protection/Drainage in Water Logged Areas;

(8)Rural Connectivity. The bookletcontaining the Model Estimates hasbeen drafted by Sri TapabrataGhosh, Executive Engineer, et. al.

2. To study themethodologyforformulatingSchedule ofRates (SORs)for rural worksexecuted byunskilledmanual labourby the StateGovernmentswith specialreference toNREGA

Documents(i) Work-

Time-Motionstudiesand

(i)PWD SORs

Still there are gaps between SORs andminimum Wages, Study of beneficiariesworkers wage payment and muster-rollverification showed that yet sizeableproportion of workers engaged underNREGS workS were not receivingMinimum Wages.

Work-Time-Motion Studies have beencollected from some of the selectedstates, namely, Tamil Nadu, AndhraPradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal and alsoModel Estimates.

All the selected States studied here haveformulated Schedule of Rates forNREGS works which are higher than

Sl.No.



Non-NREGS Schedule of Rates.3. To examine

the feasibilityof a uniformSOR in theStates that maybe appliedacross allDepartmentsof the StateGovernmentswhich areinvolved inexecution ofsimilar workswith similarprocess

The detailscollectedshow thatthevariationsin SORs forNREGSworks arenot verysignificant.

Since the geo-morphologicalconditions determines work out-turn,the SORs thus can be unified inaccordance with geo-morphologicalconditions prevailing in differentdistricts in the country. Efforts havebeen made to suggest uniform SORsfor earth Work and other works inChapter Two.

Brief details of SORs for differentworks have been appended.

4. Evaluation ofthearrangementthat are inplace to ensuretransparencyof the SORsandcommunication of the SORsto labourers;and

Documents Meetings Observation

The process of evaluation is not yettransparent enough. There are chancesof the workers being short-changed.

Workers being mostly poor andilliterate and being adverselydependent on the will of villagePradhans and officials generallyremain silent.

SORs are not properly and legiblycommunicated and displayed to theworkers.

Hoarding providing details of SORswas found absent in almost all of theworksites visited by the ResearchTeam.

A simple handbook in regionallanguage should have helped the

Sl.No.



common workers understand the SORsand prevailing Minimum Wages. This,however, has not been done withproper care.

Some States have developed job cardsproviding necessary information aboutvarious aspects of NREGS, forexample Tamil Nadu (See Annexure).

5. Examine thelegal validityof the SORprocedures indifferentStates.

Documents Discussion

SORs are either fixed by theGovernment on the basis of PWD ratesor on the basis of Work-Time-Motionstudy. Keeping Minimum Wage as thegoal, effort is being made to revise theSORs after experiencing difficulties toprovide Minimum Wages.

SORs are decided by the Schedule ofRates Committee in different Statesand the Estimates are finally approvedby the State Governments.

The quality of material and labour etc.required to execute unit quantity of acompleted item of work is constant.The standards of these qualities havebeen decided by government of Indiavide its publication: All IndiaStandard Schedule of Rates 1986,Government of India, Ministry ofUrban Development, National BuildingOrganization, New Delhi.

Scope1. Study the

process ofnotifyingminimumwages foragriculturallabourers andthe periodicityof its revision

Documentsand analysis

The process of notifying MinimumWages for Agricultural Labourers hasbeen studied in this report. The resultsof the study have been presented inChapter Three.

The Minimum Wage Rates are revisedtwo to four years. It is based onConsumer Price Index (CPI) Numberfor Agricultural Labour. In order toderive weights at items/Sub-group/group level and calculation ofindex groups and sub-groups wereformed to the extent possible, on thepattern of CPI Number for industrialworkers on base 1982=100 and inpursuance of the recommendations ofthe Technical Advisory Committee(TAC) on Statistics of Prices and costof Living (SPCL). The expenditurewas categorized into following groups:

(i) Food;(ii) Pan-supari, Tobacco & Intoxicants;(iii) Fuel & Light;(vi) Clothing, Bedding & Footwear; and(v) Miscellaneous.

2. Examinenotified wagefor agriculture

Documentsand evidencecollected.

Minimum wage was much low beforethe implementation of NREGS. Theevidence now shows that ever since

labourers(unskilled,lowest) beforeNREGA andafter NREGA

the launching of NREGS, MinimumWage rates have been enhanced inareas where the scheme is properlyimplemented.

3. Study the basisof payment ofworks inNREGAwhether it isbased on timerate or taskrate or thecombination ofboth

Visits Documents

In all worksites visited by the researchteam, it was found that payment isbased on task rates.

4. Examinewhetherdifferent SORsexists in thesame areas forrural worksthat are similarin their natureand executedthroughunskilledmanual labourwithout the useof contractorsand machinery

Documentsof differentdepartmentshave beenstudied.

It is found that several departmentslike, irrigation, forestry, roadconstruction, etc. have their ownSORs., It was also found that similarworks carried under privatesupervision, the SOR are rather lowerthan NREGS.

Several years of experience has shownthat people, who are seekingemployment under NREGS, are bothsocio-economically and physicallyvulnerable because they mostly comefrom the poorest sections of thesociety. Apart from this, manyjobseekers are women and workswhich are available to them are mostlyearth work which are arduous and attime very difficult for women andphysically weak persons. Keeping thisaspects in view, the Schedule of Ratesfor NREGS works have beensubstantially raised.

5. ExamineWork-Time-

The Work-Time-Motion studiesconducted by the Governments of

Motion studyconducted bythe StateGovernmentsor DistrictAdministrationor Blocks

Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradeshhave been studied and the briefsummaries of the studies have beengiven in Appendices.

6. To studywhether therehas beenmodification inthe norms ofoutput forcertain items.List out suchmajor itemsand therationale.

DocumentsDiscussions

Modifications have been on severalitems.

Some examples have been cited inChapter Two of the Report.

7. To studywhether thesystem forrevision ofSOR followedin otherprogrammesalso? If achange insystem hasbeen adopted,the reason forsuch change?

The system for revision of SORs isfollowing different activities and it isrevised in the light of cost of inputs inthe market.

8. To studywhether therevised SORapplied toNREGA isapplicable toworks otherthan NREGA

The SORs applicable to NREGS worksare not generally applicable to otherworks conducted by differentDepartments, like Depts of Irrigation,Forest, Roads construction, etc.

9. To study how According to Consumer Price Index.

the SOR fixedand has beenrelated to theMinimumwages notifiedfor agriculturelabour inNREGA andsimilar otherworks; and

10. What is/are thecompetentauthority thatapproves theSORs forNREGA workand non-NREGA worksof a similarnature andsimilarexecutionprocess?

SORs of NREGS works are fixed byDepartment of Rural Development/Schedule of Rates Committees in theselected states.

Creation ofEmployment

Creation ofAssets

Social Protection

Executive Summary

1. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is one of the most

important employment providing schemes in India backed by a

legislation. The legislation guarantees 100 days employment to any

rural household that desires to do any manual work stipulated in the

Act, during a financial year. The scheme has three important

dimensions - one dimension is the creation of assets in rural areas;

second dimension is the social protection of the vulnerable sections of

the society; and the third dimension is the guaranteed provision for

employment, the mother of all social securities.

2. One of the important aspects of works under National Rural

Employment Guarantee Scheme is the measurement process and

quantum of work out-turn for any worker engaged in NREGS works in

a day. It is stipulated that the work out turn should be such that enables a

worker to receive Minimum Wages as fix for such work.

2.1. It is evident from the present study that during the initial period

the Schedule of Rates which followed was basically the rates

determined by the Public Works Departments, etc. With

gathering of experiences, it became obvious that if the Schedule

of Rates used by existing works conducted by different

Departments is used than for an unskilled rural worker it would

be well-nigh impossible to avail the minimum wages which are

prescribed for agricultural labourers.

2.2. Once it became evident that workers engaged in the scheme were

failing to receive minimum wages because of their specific

physical and skill profile, State Governments undertook Work-

Time-Motion-Studies.

2.3. On the basis of the Work-Time-Motion Studies the Schedule of

Rates for NREGS works were revised specially with regard to

earth work. The revised Schedule of Rates for NREGS works

considerably increased since then.

2.4. It was also found that measurements were not in uniform

constants i.e. metre and feet. For example, some States have

used measurement in terms of cubic feet while some states in

terms of cubic metre. Brief details of SORs prevailing in the

selected states are given below:

(i) Andhra Pradesh: In Andhra Pradesh on the basis ofWork-Time-Motion study a new Schedule of Rates werefixed by the competent Schedule of Rate Committee/ TaskRate Committee, keeping in view the soil conditions of thedifferent areas of the State. The details of the Schedule ofRates are given in Chapter 2. The Schedule of Rates inAndhra Pradesh for 23 item of work was approved by thePanchayati Raj & Rural Development Department. Exceptsharpening of crowber which was measured in time(Week) all other item of works were measured on the basisof area (for example, acre) and piece (no. of plants, etc.).

(ii) Tamil Nadu: In Tamil Nadu Work-Time-Motion studywas conducted in different districts and blocks. On thebasis of the Work-Time-Motion study, it was suggestedthat at least the New Schedule of Rates for NREGA worksshould be 45 percent over the Schedule of Rates for PWDfor labour oriented items in different area with differentsoil conditions. The Schedule of Rates which are beingfollowed in Tamil Nadu are given in Chapter Two.

(iii) West Bengal: In West Bengal, Work-Time-Motion studywas conducted and New Schedule of Rates was preparedby the West Bengal Government. The details of theSchedule of Rates are given in Chapter Two. ThePanchayati & Rural Development Department has alsoprepared a handbook of Model Estimates for works underNREGS.

(iv) Bihar: In Bihar, Work-Time-Motion study was conductedand New Schedule of Rates were prepared by the BiharGovernment. The details of the Schedule of Rates aregiven in Chapter Two. The State has also developed aHandbook for Model Estimation for the works underNREGS.

(v) Rajasthan: In Rajasthan, through the Work-Time-Motionstudies, the quantum of work out-turn and the dailyMinimum Wage were studied and accordingly, theSchedule of Rates were decided. The details of theSchedule of Rates fixed for the NREGS works have beenpresented in Chapter Two.

(vi) Gujarat: The Gujarat Government conducted acomprehensive Work-Time-Motion-Study to suggestsuitable work-out-turn of workers engaged in NREGSworks. The SORs thus proposed is given in Chapter Two.

(vii) Madhya Pradesh: The Government of Madhya Pradeshalso conducted Work-Time-Motion-Study keeping in viewthe profile of the workers engaged in NREGS works. TheSORs are based on Rural Engineering DepartmentsSchedule of Rates which are followed for different workslike, road building, forestry, irrigation, etc. The presentSchedule of Rates is given in Chapter Two.

(viii) Uttar Pradesh: The Government of Uttar Pradesh isfollowing Schedule of Rates as fixed by Public WorksDepartment. The details of the SORs for NREGS works isgiven in Chapter Two.

It may be noted that there are different Schedule of Rates for similar

works especially for earth works.

2.5: Different SORs

SORs for similar works under NREGS are different in

different states.

SORs are decided by Schedule of Rates Committee appointed

by the state Governments.

The rates are revised one the basis of rise of cost of labour and

material.

2.6: Revision of SORs

SORs are revised once in every year in different states.

2.7: Lack of publicity of SORs

Details of SORs and Minimum Wages are not properly

displayed through hoardings and pamphlets.

No. of days work available was not very high. Eligible

workers often reported that they were provided works though

they wanted it.

Publicity about SORs/ Minimum Wages is still much to be

desired. During the study visits to different states and

worksites, the Research Team observed that SORs details

were not available with the workers.

2.8: Minimum Wages: Minimum Wages have been revised several

times by several states as could be seen in Table 1.

Table: 1

Revision of Minimum Wages under NREGS in Selected States

YearSl.No.

Name of the State2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)1 Andhra Pradesh Rs. 80.00 Rs. 80.00 Rs. 80.00 Rs. 90.002 Bihar Rs. 68.00 Rs. 68.00 Rs. 77.00 Rs. 89.003 Gujarat Rs. 50.00 Rs. 50.00 Rs. 50.00 Rs. 100.004 Madhya Pradesh Rs. 61.31 Rs. 63.00 Rs. 67.31 Rs. 91.315 Rajasthan Rs. 73.00 Rs. 73.00 Rs. 73.00 Rs. 100.006 Tamil Nadu Rs. 80.00 Rs. 80.00 Rs. 80.00 Rs. 80.007 Uttar Pradesh Rs. 58.00 Rs. 58.00 Rs. 80.00 Rs. 100.008 West Bengal Rs. 67.42 Rs. 69.43 Rs. 75.00 Rs. 81.00

Source: Documents collected from different state governments.

2.9: Increasing demand for work

The demand for work under NREGS has been increasing but effective

demand is yet to take place. During the study it was amply evident that

shelf of works was not adequately prepared though was enough scope

for increasing number of days employment potential.

2.10: Minimum Rates are fixed on the basis of norms laid down by the 15th

Session of Indian Labour Conference.

2.11: It is evident from the study that the periodicity of revision of Minimum

Wage Rates, are different in different States. It was found that the

Wage Rates were revised usually between two to four years.

2.12: It may, however, be noted that with the implementation of NREGS, the

frequency of revision has been little more as compared to the period

before launching of NREGS.

2.13: It was also reported by both the implementing agencies and workers

engaged in NREGS works that many workers were unable to complete

the quantum of work stipulated per day.

2.14: It was also found that comparatively more workers were receiving the

Minimum Wages than earlier.

2.15: Wrong possession of Job Cards

In most of the cases, job cards were found in the possession of

Sarpanches or other Panchayat functionaries.

In many cases it was found that job cards were fudged and fake

entries were made.

2.16: Decline in migration and indebtedness

In many places NREGS has arrested distress migration.

Incidence of indebtedness among NREGS beneficiaries has

declined.

2.17: Increasing participation of women

Women beneficiary workers were found to be more enthusiastic

about NREGS.

They consider it as a boon to them. For it provided them

employment within walking distance from their homes.

During the survey though some of them complained about the

arduous nature of jobs, yet they prepared NREGS works because the

wage was high as compared to other non-NREGS works.

Chapter One

Introduction

1.1 Prologue

Chapter One provides a brief background information on National

Rural Employment Guarantee Act (Scheme) and also discusses research

methodology of the study. It also outlines scheme of presentation of the

study.

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is one of the

boldest and pioneering schemes in the world of employment envisaged and

launched by the

Government of India in

2006. The philosophy and

strategy embedded in the

scheme has many far

reaching socio-economic

consequences. The

consequences are, however,

for the betterment of the society in general and rural workers in particular.

The scheme is all the more important because still three-fourth of the

population of the country live in rural areas. Another far reaching implication

of the scheme is to providing employment to countrys increasing work-

seeking population.

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is also a unique

effort. For the first time, employment is now a right bestowed by an Act,

known as National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005. One hundred

days employment demand being the right of a desirous and bona-fide worker,

the bargaining power of the concerned worker has considerably increased as

compared to earlier times. Of course, there are grey areas in the path and

process of implementation. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that a kind of

silent revolution is taking place in the rural areas of the country. On one side,

there are apprehensions, while on the other side, there are emerging hopes and

expectations among the marginals of the society the agricultural labourers, the

rural artisans, the construction workers, etc.

For, The NREGS ranks among the most powerful initiatives ever

undertaken for transformation of rural livelihoods in India. The

unprecedented commitment of financial resources is matched only by its

imaginative architecture that promises a radically fresh programme of rural

development (Ambasta, Shankar and Shah, 2008).

The impact of NREGS has assessed by many for example, Dreze and

Oldiges have rightly observed, Within a year of the Act coming into force,

the programme has been actively taken up in a small but significant number of

districts (20 of them spent more than Rs. 100 crores on NREGA in 2006-07).

Further, field reports suggest that many of the anticipated benefits of

employment guarantee are beginning to show in these pioneer districts: there

is greater economic security, agricultural wages are rising, migration is

slowing down, productive assets are being created, women have more

economic independence, power equations are changing, and so on. The need

of hour is to extend the hour is to extend these positive experiences to other

districts. If Surguja or Mandla or Banswara are able to spend more than Rs.

100 crores on this programme in a single year, there is no reason why (say)

Palamau or Kalahandi should not be able to do it.

The Second Monitoring Reports of Poorest Areas Civil Society (PACS)

has elaborately underscored the impact of NREGS. It concludes that: Among

the positive indicators of the programme, it has been observed in all the states

that there has been a decrease in migration because of the works initiated

under NREGA. There are issues pertaining to wage rate and timeliness of

wage payment. However, it was observed that the marginal increase in the

wage rate has enabled the workers to use the additional money for ensuring

food security for their families. Workers have also reported that they could

afford medical expanses of family members and provide better education

facilities for the children with increased income from NREGS works. The

productive assets, created under NREGS for improving irrigation facilities,

have also demonstrated positive results.

Pattanaik (2007) which examining equity and efficiency aspect of

NREGS observed that NREGS has been promoting gender equality in

employment along with checking migration. The NREGS also contributing

significantly to raise the household income of the beneficiaries.

Earlier, i.e. before the launching of the scheme, a destitute worker could

not demand employment from any social or administrative agencies. Today

an eligible beneficiary knows, especially the one who is aware, that he/she

would have to be provided employment if he/she desires.

This is no doubt contingent upon the awareness, knowledge and supportive

opportunities provided by different stakeholders, namely, the administration,

civil society and

workers

organizations.

The significance

of the National

Rural

Employment

Guarantee Scheme

is very precisely

summed up by

Raghuvansh

Prasad Singh, the

then Union

Minister of Rural

Development:

The significance

of the NREGS

lies in the fact that it operates at many levels. It creates a social safety net for

all the vulnerable by providing a fall-back employment source, when other

employment alternatives are scarce or inadequate. It adds a dimension of the

equity to the process of growth equity. It creates a rightbased framework for

wage employment programme, by conferring legal entitlements and right to

demand employment upon the workers and makes the government

accountable for providing employment in a time bound manner. By

prioritizing natural resources management and emphasizing the creation of

durable assets it holds the potential of becoming a growth engine for

sustainable development of agriculture based economy. Finally its operational

design built around strong decentralization and lateral accountability to local

community offers a new way of doing business and a model of government

reform anchored on the principles of transparency and grass root democracy.

In this way, the potential of NREGS spans and recharging rural economy to a

transformative empowerment process of democracy (Singh, 2008).

Another important aspect of the National Employment Guarantee

Scheme is that it has been playing a very important role providing

employment to the most vulnerable sections of workers in the country.

However, there are several problems which have emerged in course of its

implementation process (see Ambasta, Shankar and Shah, 2008; Jha, Gaiha

and Shankar, 2008). The problems are mainly related to two aspects, such as:

(i) one aspect is the identification process of the eligible beneficiary

workers and their awareness about the Act and its provisions; and

(ii)The second aspect is the payment of wages for different works in

different areas and Schedule of Rates.

Problems relating to these aspects have triggered disillusionment in

different quarters. Keeping this in view, it has been decided to conduct a

study with a focus on the issue of Schedule of Rates (SORs) and also

examine the process of fixing. Rates for Minimum Wages for Agricultural

Labourers. The purposes to arrive at a fair and reasonable system of

assessment of works performed under NREGS, taking into account diverse

factors such as age-sex-health profile of workers, types of works and geo-

morphological conditions that affect productivity of the worker. Accordingly,

the issue of Schedule of Rates has to be studied with reference to the

prevailing procedures and practices in the State Governments and UTs which

are implementing the NREGS.

1.2: Objectives

Broadly the purpose of the study is to examine the prevailing situation

regarding SORs and to suggest measures for justifiable remuneration package

for those who are engaged in activities under NREGS. The specific

objectives are:

To study the prevailing SORs in selected States;

To study the methodology for formulating Schedule of Rates (SORs) forrural works executed by unskilled manual labour by the State Governmentswith special reference to NREGS;

To examine the feasibility of a uniform SOR in the States that may beapplied across all Departments of the State Governments which areinvolved in execution of similar works with similar process;

Evaluation of the arrangement that are in place to ensure transparency ofthe SORs and communication of the SORs to labourers; and

Examine the legal validity of the SOR procedures in different States.

1.3: Scope

The study has been undertaken to:

Study the process of notifying minimum wages for agriculture

labourers and the periodicity of its revision;

Examine the notified wages for agriculture labourers (unskilled)

before NREGS and after NREGS;

Study the basis of payment of works in NREGS whether it is based

on time rate or task rate or the combination of both;

Examine whether different SORs exists in the same areas for rural

works that are similar in their nature and executed through unskilled

manual labour without the use of contractors and machinery;

Examine Work, Time and Motion study conducted by the State

Governments or District Administration or Blocks;

To study whether there has been modification in the norms of output

for certain items. List out such major items and the rationale;

To study whether the system for revision of SOR followed in other

programmes also? If a change in system has been adopted, the

reason for such change?

To study whether the revised SOR applied to NREGS is applicable

to works other than NREGS;

To study how the SOR fixed and has been related to the Minimum

wages notified for agriculture labour in NREGS and similar other

works; and

What is/are the competent authority that approves the SORs for

NREGS work and non-NREGS works of a similar nature and

similar execution process?

1.4: Methodology

In order to make the study comprehensive, both secondary and primary data

and information were collected. Secondary data and information were

collected from Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural

Development, Government of India and from selected State Governments and

also from Block Headquarters. In addition, books, articles, etc. were also

consulted for collecting information.

Primary data and information were collected by administering

structured schedule to beneficiaries in selected worksites in different

identified districts. In addition, data and information were also gathered

through interviews, discussions, meetings with different stakeholders, like,

Government Officials, Panchayati Raj Institution Officials and other

members. The research team also interacted with civil societies like NGOs

and Trade Unions who were involved in the process of implementation of the

scheme. Extensive visits were made to different worksites to observe and

examine the types of work being carried out and also the problems faced by

the beneficiary workers with regards to SORs and the quantum of work vis--

vis payment of Minimum Wage.

1.5: Area of the study

The study has been conducted in eight states namely:

1. Andhra Pradesh

2. Bihar

3. Gujarat

4. Madhya Pradesh

5. Rajasthan

6. Tamil Nadu

7. Uttar Pradesh

8. West Bengal

The selection of the States in which the study was conducted was determined

by the Dept. of Rural Development, MORD, Govt. of India and criteria were

also indicated for selection of districts. The major criterion was geo-

morphological conditions.

1.6: Sample

(a) From each state two districts with different geographical conditions

were identified. This was done in consultation with State Level

Officials.

(b) From each district, ten work-sites were selected. The selection

process was based on the list provided by the block level authorities.

(c) From each work-site, sample beneficiary workers were identified for

in-depth study. The selection was based on the Muster Roll of

workers who were paid last before the study visits.

(d) In each of the eight states and sixteen districts, implementing

agency/personnel were interviewed.

(e) Existing information, from secondary sources, on NREGS relating to

SORs were collected and analyzed.

1.7: Duration of the Study

The study was initiated in September, 2008. The research Team visited

different States and collected secondary material and also canvassed schedule

to elicit information from different stakeholders, like Gram Pradhan and

beneficiary workers.

The field works were completed by February, 2009 and an Interim

Report is presented by the end of March 2009.

1.8: Limitations of the Study

The study has several limitations, for example:

(a) The study was launched during the period when monsoon was in full

swing both in the eastern part as well as in the southern part of the

country. As a result, works under NREGS were not being carried

out. Hence, the study was delayed.

(b) During the visit, though elaborate lists of worksites were provided

by the officials, yet it was difficult to find out exact locations of the

worksites.

(c) No location maps were provided to the team.

(d) More often it was time consuming to locate sample beneficiaries

who were identified for the study. This also resulted in delay.

1.9: Study Design

The study has been presented in five chapters and relevant materials have

been appended for dissemination of the information.

Chapter One provides an overview of the National Employment

Guarantee Scheme, underlining its importance for the employment

generation and asset creation in rural India. In addition, this chapter also

provides objective, scope and research methodology designed for the study.

Chapter Two deals with Schedule of Rates prevailing in different

selected states along with methodology of determining SORs.

Chapter Three to Chapter eight discuss problems and issues relating to

SORs, and also views of beneficiaries and other stakeholders about it.

Chapter Nine tenders recommendations and suggestions for a uniform

national level SORs and Minimum Wages.

References

Ambasta, Pramathesh, P S Vijay Shankar and Mihir Shah (2008) Two yearsof NREGA: The Road Ahead. Economic and Political Weekly.February, 2008.

Dreze, Jean and Christian Oldiges, How is NREGA Doing retrieved fromnet.

Jha, Raghbendra, Raghav Ghaiha & Shylashri Shankar (2008), Reviewing theNational Rural Employment Guarantee Programme. Economic andPolitical Weekly, March, 2008.

PACS (2007), Status of NREGA Implementation 2006-07: Second MonitoringReport of PACS. Development Alternatives, New Delhi.

Pattanaik, B.K. (2007), National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme: A MicroAppraisal of Equity and Efficiency, IASSI Quarterly, Vol. 26. No. 2, 2007

Singh, R.P. (2008) Two Years of NREGA. Yojana, August, 2008.

Chapter Two

Schedule of Rates under NREGS

2.1: Introduction

In India, the number of workers in unorganized sector is overwhelmingly high

(94.0 percent) and so also their preponderance across all occupations and

activities. In such a situation, social security is always precarious and

sometimes conspicuous by its absence. In India, most of the unorganized

sector workers are deprived of basic social security measures, like, health,

income, employment, etc. In this context, the National Rural Employment

Guarantee Scheme has appeared as a grand life boat. It is a social security

embedded in employmentemployment for developing, creating and

improving assets in the country, thereby providing social security to a large

number of unorganized rural workers. For employment is the mother of all

securities.

The main objective, as enunciated in the National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act 2005, is given as below:

The main objective of the Act is to enhance livelihood security in rural

areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in

a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to

do unskilled manual work. (MORD, 2008).

On the basis of this comprehensive objective a number of implementable

goals have been set up in order to administer the scheme in more

comprehensive and scientific manner. The goals are:

(a) Strong social safety net for the vulnerable groups by providing a

fall-back employment source, when other employment alternatives

are scarce or inadequate;

(b) Growth engine for sustainable development of an agricultural

economy. Through the process of providing employment on works

that address causes of chronic poverty such as drought, deforestation

and soil erosion, the Act seeks to strengthen the natural resource

base of rural livelihood and create durable assets in rural areas.

Effectively implemented, NREGS has the potential to transform the

geography of poverty;

(c) Empowerment of rural poor through the processes of a rights-based

Law;

(d) New ways of doing business, as a model of governance reform

anchored on the principles of transparency and grass roots

democracy;

Thus NREGS fosters conditions for inclusive growth ranging from basic wage

security and recharging rural economy to a transformative empowerment

process of democracy.

One of the most important aspects of NREGS is the Schedule of Rates

for works performed by the workers. The payment of Minimum Wages fixed

from time to time depends entirely on work-turn-out of a worker. Keeping

this in view, every State has developed SORs and revised Minimum Wage

Rates. The details regarding SORs as given in the guidelines of MORD are

presented below:

2.2: Measurement of Work and Schedule of Rate

States may evolve norms for measurement of work. The factors

underlying this may include a set of the following key consideration:

(a) The first is to ensure that all tasks required for undertaking the

works under NREGS are identified clearly and that nothing remains

invisible and underpaid in piece-rate work. Clubbing/Bundling of

separable tasks (e.g. digging and lifting) should be avoided;

(b) The second is to devise productivity norms for all the tasks listed

under piece-rate works for the different local conditions of soil,

slope and geology types in such a ways that normal work for the

prescribed duration of work results in earnings at least equal to the

wage rate (emphasis added);

(c) The third is to devise measurement norms (individual versus

collective), time lag between execution and measurement, in order to

reduce corruption and underpayment.

For this purpose, the State Governments may undertake comprehensive work,

time and motion studies. These studies will observe out-turn and fix rates

after detailed location specific observations. This implies that productivity

norms must follow possible out-turn under different geo-morphological and

climatic conditions, across and within Districts (emphasis added). This is of

particular significance in areas with a high degree of location specificity and

variability in the soil, slope and geological conditions and seasonal variation.

Therefore, a matrix of rates for the same task needs to be drawn up that

follows ecological rather than administrative boundaries. The Schedules of

Rates (SOR) may be prepared on the basis of these studies.

SORs of various executing agencies for similar nature of activities and

outputs in the same area must be same. Since SORs would have horizontal

application across the departments/agencies, they should be notified by the

competent authority of the State.

The SOR with standard designs should be proactively disclosed and

widely publicized. In particular, the SOR should be posted at worksites in the

vernacular, in a manner that is legible and comprehensive to labourers using

the simple terminology of peoples estimates.

Measurement will be recorded in the Measurement Books maintained

by qualified technical personnel in charge of the worksite. Relationship

should exist between daily measurement of Mates and measurement by

technically qualified personnel. Verification should be done by qualified

personnel a week before payment of wages. Measurement should be done on

daily basis and in a transparent manner. (MORD, 2008).

2.3: Profile of Schedule of Rates is Selected States

In the beginning of launching of the National Rural Employment

Guarantee Scheme all the States and Union Territories in the country were

following Schedule of Rates1 fixed by Schedule of Rate Committees or Task

Rate Committees which decide rates for road building, irrigation

infrastructure, forest, soil erosion works etc.

In course of implementation of the works carried under the scheme, it

was found that the rates were invariably low for the beneficiaries who were

opting for employment under NREGA Scheme. More often, it was found

that to achieve the Minimum Wages prescribed for NREGA works, the

quantum of work task to be performed for existing Schedule of Rates was

high. As a result, the workers did not avail Minimum Wages. Consequently,

authorities conducted Work-Time-Motion studies to fix Schedule of Rates

for NREGA works, keeping in view the ability of the workers to perform the

quantum of work to receive minimum wages notified by the competed

authority of different State/UTs.

In order to fix Task Rates/ Schedule of Rates, every district has District

Level Schedule of Rates Committees. The structure and responsibilities of

such committees are given as below:

Table: 2.1

Structure of Schedule of Rates Committee

Sl. No. Officer Responsibility1. District Collector Member

2. Department of Rural Development and PanchayatiRaj Department, State Government

Member

3. Chief Executive Officer, District Council Member

4. District Level Officer, Public Works Department Member

5. District Level Officer, Irrigation Department Member

6. District Project Officer, (Engineering Department)District Council, Assistant Project Officer,

Member

(Engineering Department) District CouncilSource: Information provided by the State Governments.

1: Note: Before starting a construction work, an ESTIMATE is prepared by Engineers. Anestimate means an assessment of quantities of completed items of work and calculation of costinvolved.

The calculation of cost of material and labour i.e. completed item of work is done on thebasis of a schedule known as Schedule of Rates.

Execution of every item of construction requires a certain amount of material and labour.A systematic listing of activity of construction is done and on the basis of consumption ofstandard quantities of material and labour and depending on the market rate, the cost of thatactivity is worked out. The resulting schedule is called SCHEDULE OF RATES.

2.3.1: Responsibilities of the Committee

1. The availability of material for different construction works and

fixation and approval of rates for material/labour rate after analyzing

the above.

2. Approval of unit cost according to the process given in Schedule 6.1.

3. Fixation of material cost if the material available in the area is

expensive and fixation of lead charges.

4. Approval of new reframed rates time to time on the increase of material

rates and labour rates.

Since most of the works under NREGA scheme related to earth works,

the quantum of output required by the workers were reduced further in all the

States selected for the present study. Details of the studies are given are as

below:

2.3.2: Andhra Pradesh

In Andhra Pradesh on the basis of Work-Time-Motion study a new

Schedule of Rates were fixed by the competent Schedule of Rate Committee/

Task Rate Committee, keeping in view the soil conditions of the different

areas of the states. The details of the Schedule of Rates are given in Section

2.4.

2.3.3: Tamil Nadu

In Tamil Nadu Work-Time-Motion study was conducted in different

districts and blocks. On the basis of the Work-Time-Motion study, it was

suggested that at least the New Schedule of Rates for NREGA works should

be 45 percent over the Schedule of Rates for PWD for labour oriented items in

different area with different soil conditions. The Schedule of Rates which are

being followed in Tamil Nadu are given in Section Chapter Two.

2.3.4: West Bengal

In West Bengal, Work-Time-Motion study was conducted and New Schedule

of Rates was prepared by the West Bengal Government. The details of the

Schedule of Rates are given in Chapter Two.

2.3.5: Bihar

In Bihar, Work-Time-Motion study was conducted and New Schedule of

Rates was prepared by the Bihar Government. The details of the Schedule of

Rates are given in Chapter Two.

2.3.6: Rajasthan

In Rajasthan, through the Work-Time-Motion studies, the quantum of work,

out-turn and the daily Minimum Wage were studied and accordingly, the

Schedule of Rates were decided. The details of the Schedule of Rates fixed

for the NREGS works have been presented in Chapter Two.

2.3.6: Gujarat

The Gujarat Government conducted a comprehensive study on Work-Time-

Motion to suggest suitable work-out-turn of workers engaged in NREGS

works. The SORs thus proposed is given in Chapter Two.

2.3.7: Madhya Pradesh

The Government of Madhya Pradesh also conducted Work-Time-Motion

studies keeping in view the profile of the workers engaged in NREGS works.

The SORs are based on Rural Engineering Department Rates which are

followed for different works like, road building, forestry, irrigation, etc. The

present Schedule of Rates is given in Chapter Two.

2.3.8: Uttar Pradesh

The Government of Uttar Pradesh is following Schedule of Rates as fixed by

Public Works Department. The details of the SORs for NREGS works is

given in Chapter Two.

It may be noted that there are different Schedule of Rates for similar

works especially for earth works. The details of such SORs have been

presented in Appendices.

Here an attempt has been made to examine the prevailing SORs in

some selected States namely, (i) Andhra Pradesh; (ii) Bihar; (iii) Gujarat; (iv)

Madhya Pradesh (v) Rajasthan; (vi) Tamil Nadu; (vii) Uttar Pradesh; and

(viii) West Bengal.

First, an attempt has been made to present state-wise prevailing SORs.

The information on SORs has been collected from the State-level and District

level agencies who are implementing NREGS.

Field level survey was conducted by administering structured

questionnaire to beneficiaries and local level implementing agencies like

Village Pradhan, Panchayat Secretary, etc. to examine to what extent the

work-turn out is taking place and how much worker is receiving as wage

whether it is less than the prescribed wage or more than that.

Second, effort has been made to discuss different problems which

emerged during the discussions with the implementing agencies and

beneficiaries.

2.4: Schedule of Rates for Works under NREGS: Andhra Pradesh

2.4.1: Workers profile

An analysis of distribution of workers in Khammam shows that 49.22 and

22.93 percent workers were constituted by agricultural laboures and

cultivators respectively. This segment of workers obviously requires

employment during lean season.

In Medak, cultivators and agricultural labourers constituted 29.80 and 37.09

percent, of the total workforce (See Table 2.2).

Before going into the details of the Schedule of Rates, an attempthas been made here to highlight the workers profile and soil profileof each of the Districts under the study. Because these factors aremost vital aspects for successful implementation of NREGS.

Table: 2.2Profile of surveyed districts in Andhra Pradesh

DistrictKhammam MedakSl.No. Items

Main Marginal Total %age Main Marginal Total %age(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

1 Total Population 2531752 2663783 0.002 Total Workers 1037764 205745 1243509 100.0 1072414 236981 1309395 100.03 Cultivators 270138 14958 285096 22.93 373886 16301 390187 29.80

DistrictKhammam MedakSl.No. Items

Main Marginal Total %age Main Marginal Total %age(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

4 Agr. Labourers 459338 152757 612095 49.22 326424 159215 485639 37.09

5 Plan., Liv.,Fo.,Fishetc 18732 3775 22507 1.81 26130 3604 29734 2.27

6 Mining & Quarrying 24794 684 25478 2.05 7433 645 8078 0.627 Household Industry 20128 6214 26342 2.12 44547 13666 58213 4.458 Non-HH Industry 37076 4753 41829 3.36 99774 15313 115087 8.79

9 Ele., Gas & WaterSupply 6712 419 7131 0.57 2999 161 3160 0.24

10 Construction 30062 7011 37073 2.98 24068 7636 31704 2.42

11 Wholesale & RetailTrade 52580 5685 58265 4.69 56225 7030 63255 4.83

12 Hotel & Restaurant 5234 474 5708 0.46 7727 891 8618 0.66

13 Transport, Storage &Comm. 24732 1953 26685 2.15 24554 2234 26788 2.05

14FinancialIntermediation, &Rea Estate

17292 2904 20196 1.62 18113 3825 21938 1.68

15

PublicAdm&Defence,Comp. S.S.,Edu,Health&SSW(Lto Q)

70946 4158 75104 6.04 60534 6460 66994 5.12

Source: Industrial Classification of workers (2009), Census of India 2001

2.4.2: SORs in Andhra Pradesh

The Department of Rural Development, Government of Andhra

Pradesh, conducted Work-Time-Motion studies in eight districts and 158

work-sites. After studying the average out-turns of work per person per day,

the Schedule of Rates for 13 different works was calculated for seven hours

work per day. Rs. 80 was fixed as minimum wage for NREGS works.

Subsequently, an order was issued, (No. G.O. No. 146, PR& RD (RD)

Department, dated 24.04.07) for its adherence by the concerned Departments

implementing the NREGS. The details of SORs for different works in Andhra

Pradesh are as below:

Table: 2.3Schedule of Rates in Andhra Pradesh

Annexure to GO. Ms. No. 146, PR&RD (RD II) Department, Dated24.04.2007

Sl.No. Item of Work Rate approved

Bush clearance

1)Light shrub 1.5 Sqm2)Medium and Dense Shrub/besharam/ Rubber plants 2.0 /Sqm

1.

3)Juli flora 4.5 / Sqm (excludinguprooting of

Stumps)Earth work Excavation in Ordinary SoilsCategory-I1) Roads, rock fill dams and desilting of tanks 47 / Cum2) a) Earth work excavation for contour bunding 35.0 / Cum2) b) Breaking of clods with tamping & sectioning forcontour bunding

12.00 / Cum

Category II1) Farm ponds 66.0 / Cum2) Plantation pitsa) 0.9 mts 0.9 mts 0.9 mts size of pit 68.0 / Cumb) 0.6 mts 0.6 mts0.6 mts size of pit 68.0 / Cumc) 0.45 mts 0.45 mts 0.45 mts size of pit 60.0 Cumd) 0.3 mts 0.3 mts 0.3 mts size of pit 60.0 / Cum

Category III

2.

All other works 54.0 / CumEarthwork Excavation in Hard SoilsCategory I1)Roads and rock fill dams 58.0 / Cum2)A) Earthwork Excavation for contour bunding 44.0 / Cum2) b) Breaking of clods with tamping and sectioning forcontour bunding

14.0 / Cum

Category II1) Farm ponds 86.0 / Cum

3.

2) Plantation pits


a) 0.9 mts 0.9 mts 0.9 mts size of pit 77.0 / Cumb) 0.6 mts 0.6 mts 0. mts size of pit 77.0 /Cumc) 0.45 mts 0.45 mts 0.45 mts size of pit 68.0 / Cumd) 0.3 mts 0.3 mts 0.3 mts size of pit 68.0 / Cum

Category IIIAll other works 59.0 / CumEarthwork excavation in soft disintegrated rock soilCategory II

1) Farm ponds 100.0 / CumCategory III

4.

All other works 90.0 / CumStone Pitching (Unskilled)

1) Farm Ponds Labour charges for pitching only. 135 / Cum

5.

2) Minipercolation Tanks Labour charges forpitching only.

135 / Cum

Rough Stone Dry Packing (Unskilled)1) Rock Fill Dam, Stone Checks & Stone outlets Labour charges for packing only.

60.0 / Cum6.

2) Stone Terracing Labour charges for packing only. 60.0 CumLoading & Unloading of materials

1) 225 mm & 300 mm thick rough stone includingcollection at quarry.

40.0 /Cum

2) 20 mm, 40 mm & 60 mm H.B.G. Metal 32 / Cum3) R. Rock Stone, CRS Stone 32 / Cum4) Sand 80 / Tractor load5) Bricks 100 / Tractor load6) Cement 2 / Bag

7.

7) Plants (small) 200/1000 NosPlantation Works

Category : I1) Survey and demarcation 13/100 No.2) Alignment and fixing of planting point with 0.45

meters length sticks37.50/100 No.

8.

3) 0.45 meter sticks preparation and transportation at site 20/100 No.


4) a) Internal transportation of bag plants to plantingpoints. (5

20.00/100 No

4) b) Internal transportation of Avenue plantation. Tallplants

77.60/100 Nos

5) Refilling of Pits and planting (mmm), staking stickA) 0.30 0.300.30 Size pit 0.50 / EachB) 0.45 0.450.45 Size pit 1.50 / EachC) 0.60 0.600.60 Size pit 3.50 / EachD) 0.90 0.900.90 Size pit 4.50 / EachE) 1.00 1.001.00 Size pit 5.00 / Each

Soil working and weeding

Category : I (1M dia and 0.1 m Depth)1)Avenue Plantation 5 / Each2)Horticulture 5 / EachCategory : II (0.5M dia and 0.1 m Depth)1)Fore shore plantation 1.5 / Each2)B.H. Afforestation 1.5 / Each

9.

3) Boi-Diesel Plantation & Block plantation 1.5 / EachCausality Replacement for1)Reopening of Pits for avenue, Horticulture & Block

plantation5.1 / Each

10.

2)Fore share plantation, Barren Hill Afforestation, Bio-Diesel

2.5 / No

11. Watch & Ward and repair to Fence and soil workingof each plant including pruning of branches forplantations raised in common property resourcelands and lands of SC/ST/assignees.

80 / day

Boi Fencing / Brush Wood Fencing for barren hillafforestation.1) Nurseries, block plantation and fore shore plantation

including collection, transportation and fixing at site10 RMT

2) Avenue Plantation including collection, transportationand fixing at site (Size of 1 m dia and 1.5 m height)

37.85 / No

3) Horticulture for lands of SC-ST & Assignee landsonly

1000 / acre

12.

4) Horticulture fencing 1st year & 2nd year maintenance 250 /acre


SC-ST & Assignee lands only.5) Horticulture & avenue plantationsDeep Ploughing for1) Fallow Land and Hard Gravel soils (Depth not less

than 0.3 meters) using ploughing tractors1000 / acre

2) Fallow land in ordinary soils using ploughing tractordepth not less than 0.3 m

800 / acre

13.

3) Cattle cultivator (Double Ploughing) in ordinary soils 600 / acre14. Tractor hire charges for transportation of all materials

including driver bhatta (Total 8 hours working)750 / day

15. Unskilled Labour 80 /- day16. Watering plants of block plantation from the sump

constructed (where ever one sump is available per oneacre)

1.3 / plant

17. Watering plants from hand pump/bore well/open well upto distance of 30 mt

1.8 / plant

18. Watering block plantation from the nearby sources i.e.bore well open well or kunta beyond 30 mts distance.

2.25 / plant

19. Hire charges of tractor mounted water tanker for fillingsump

250 per one triptanker of 5000 its

capacity20. Construction of sump with 5 No rings of 1.25 mt dia 250

mm height, 50 mm thickness rings prepared by using 4mm MS 2 rings in CM (1:4) and 4 mm metal chips

1400 / each sump

21. Labour charges for Spreading of silt unloaded by tractorin the field

9.75 / Cum

22. Carrying of earth / gravel by head loads Leads &Liftsa) For every additional Lead of 10mts over and aboveinitial lead of 10 mt

10 /Cum23.

b) For every additional lift of 1 mt over and above initiallift of 2 mts

10 / Cum

23. Sharpening of crowbar 20 / Week

2.4.3: Field observations

During the field survey in Andhra Pradesh the following points emerged:

(i) The beneficiaries who had never undertaken earth work before NREGS,complained more about the measurements;

(ii) Women workers expressed that the quantum of work prescribedavailing minimum wage so fixed for them, was still heavy. They saidthat it should be reduced;

(iii) In the selected worksites visited by the research team it was found thatfacilities which have been prescribed by the Act, were absent, likecrche, sheds, etc.;

(iv) Another important problem was the lack of proper and sharpimplements like spade, pick axe, shovel etc. This reduced workersefficiency and productivity;

(v) The most important point which emerged was that the issue ofSchedule of Rates was not very important. In fact, despite hard workthe beneficiaries appreciated the NREGS and suggested that the schemeshould be continued when they were asked to express their suggestionswith regard to continuation of the scheme.

(vi) It however, was also found that the quality of works was not quite good.Because of lack of proper supervision and still the lingeringapprehension on the part of the workers and stakeholders whether thescheme should continue into future or not, the scheme is being takenrather casually and in many cases, it was found many tasks completedin a very lackadaisical manner.

(vii) Technical knowledge of the officials was found to be very satisfactory.

2.5: Schedule of Rates for Works under NREGS: Bihar

Before going into the details of the Schedule of Rates, an attempthas been made here to highlight the workers and soil profile of eachof the Districts under the study. Because these factors are mostvital aspects for success of NREGS.


In Buxar, cultivators and agricultural labourers constituted 36.15 and

40.24 percent respectively. In case of Vaishali, it may be seen that 30.99 and

41.63 percent were constituted by agricultural labourers.

With regard to construction workers, it may be seen that in Buxar and

Vaishali, it constituted 1.43 and 1.78 percent respectively (See Table 2.4).

Table 2.4

Profile of surveyed districts in BiharDistrict

Buxar VaishaliSl.No. ItemsMain Marginal Total %age Main Marginal Total %age

1 Total Population 1403462 2712389

2 Total Workers 303191 104053 407244 100.00 623459 159121 782580 100.003 Cultivators 128786 18427 147213 36.15 210357 32159 242516 30.994 Agr. Labourers 96717 67140 163857 40.24 232598 93187 325785 41.635 Plan., Liv.,Fo.,Fish etc 5080 2236 7316 1.80 18066 5010 23076 2.956 Mining & Quarrying 212 37 249 0.06 356 37 393 0.057 Household Industry 10813 6111 16924 4.16 23276 9271 32547 4.168 Non-HH Industy 7880 1448 9328 2.29 20428 3482 23910 3.069 Ele., Gas & Water Supply 592 23 615 0.15 1729 65 1794 0.23

10 Construction 4334 1501 5835 1.43 11311 2595 13906 1.7811 Wholesale & Retail Trade 19465 2646 22111 5.43 41695 4776 46471 5.9412 Hotel & Restaurant 857 48 905 0.22 2482 250 2732 0.3513 Transport, Storage & Comm. 6086 836 6922 1.70 16342 1851 18193 2.32

14Financial Intermediation, & ReaEstate 5356 1806 7162 1.76 10317 2225 12542 1.60

15Public Adm&Defence, Comp.S.S.,Edu, Health&SSW(Lto Q) 17013 1794

188074.62 34502 4213

387154.95

Source: Industrial Classification of Workers (2009), Census of India 2001

2.5.2: Schedule of Rates in Bihar

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of Bihar, on the basis of

Work-Time-Motion studies conducted by West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh

and from its experiences formulated the Schedule of Rates as given below, for

both male and female workers. The rates have been fixed for seven hours

work per day per person. The order was issued by the Commissioner &

Secretary, Department of Rural Development, Government of Bihar by the

Order No. RD8 (D)-30/2006/1518/ dated 19.02.2007. The rates fixed for the

NREGS works are as follows:

Table: 2.5Schedule of Rates in Bihar

(a) Quantity (In cubic feet) for digging in Soft Soil

Worker Leadup to50ft.

Beyond50 up to100 ft.

Beyond100 to182 ft

Beyond182 to264 ft.

Beyond264 to346 ft.

Beyond346 to428 ft.

Beyond428 to510 ft.

Male 80 73 66 60 56 52 49Female 68 62 56 51 48 44 41

(b) Quantity (In cubic feet) for digging in Hard Soil



Beyond100 to182 ft

Beyond182 to264 ft.

Beyond264 to346 ft.

Beyond346 to428 ft.

Beyond428 to510 ft.

Male 66 60 56 51 49 45 43Female 55 50 47 43 41 37 36

(c) Quantity (In cubic feet) for digging in Extra Hard soil



Beyond100 to182 ft

Beyond182 to264 ft.

Beyond264 to346 ft.

Beyond346 to428 ft.

Beyond428 to510 ft.

Male 55 50 47 43 41 37 36Female 47 43 40 37 35 32 31

(d) For lift calculationSl. No. Lift Multi-plying factor for works done

by an unskilled worker1. From more than 5 ft to 8 ft. 9.02 / 10.02 = 0.902. From more than 8 ft to 11.5 ft. 9.02 / 11.02 = 0.823. From more than 11.5 ft to 15

ft.9.02 / 12.02 = 0.75

4. From more than 15 ft to 18 ft. 9.02 / 13.02 = 0.695. From more than 18 ft to 21.5

ft.9.02 / 14.02 = 0.64

Source: Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of Bihar


(i) The quality of works in different worksites was found much to bedesired;

(ii) Widespread corruption was reported by many of the beneficiaries withwhom discussions were held;

(iii) There were huge potential scope for providing works under NREGS yetnot much effort has been made to provide works to the needy workers;

(iv) This apart, awareness about the scheme among the workers wasabysmally low;

(v) During the teams visits to both the Districts, i.e., Vaishali and Buxar, itwas found that no proper shelf of works were prepared;

(vi) Whenever visits were made, one site was far away from another;

(vii) During the visit, not many live work sites were found;

(viii) Although it was a lean season i.e. January, still no effort was made bythe implementing authority to provide work to the needy workers.

(ix) In many places workers expressed that their applications demandingNREGS work were not entertained by the implementing agencies.

2.6: Schedule of Rates for Works under NREGS: Gujarat

Before going into the details of the Schedule of Rates an attempthas been made here to highlight the workers and soil profile ofeach of the Districts under the study. Because these factors aremost vital aspects for success of NREGS.


With regard to cultivators and agricultural labourers it can be seen in Table

2.3 that in Sabarkantha the proportion of cultivators and agricultural labourers

in the total workers were 17.65 and 51.91 percent respectively.

In Panch Mahal, cultivators and agricultural labourers constituted 42.42

and 46.60 percent respectively. With regard to construction workers, it may

be seen that in Sabarkantha it was 2.14 percent while in Panch Mahal it was

1.75 percent (See Table 2.6).

Table: 2.6Profile of Surveyed districts in Gujarat

DistrictSabarkantha Panch MahalSl.

No. ItemsMain Marginal Total %age Main

Marginal Total %age

1 Total Population 2083416 20248832 Total Workers 280070 280070 560140 100.00 356853 356853 713706 100.003 Cultivators 49441 49441 98882 17.65 151393 151393 302786 42.424 Agr. Labourers 145376 145376 290752 51.91 166305 166305 332610 46.60

5 Plan.,Liv.,Fo.,Fish etc 43846 43846 87692 15.66 10990 10990 21980 3.08

6 Mining &Quarrying 212 212 424 0.08 292 292 584 0.08

7 HouseholdIndustry 5036 5036 10072 1.80 3846 3846 7692 1.08

8 Non-HH Industy 2545 2545 5090 0.91 2054 2054 4108 0.58

9 Ele., Gas &Water Supply 39 39 78 0.01 39 39 78 0.01

10 Construction 5997 5997 11994 2.14 6235 6235 12470 1.75

11 Wholesale &Retail Trade 11583 11583 23166 4.14 5675 5675 11350 1.59

12 Hotel &Restaurant 286 286 572 0.10 187 187 374 0.05

13Transport,Storage &Comm.

1233 1233 2466 0.44 676 676 1352 0.19

14FinancialIntermediation,& Rea Estate

4460 4460 8920 1.59 2191 2191 4382 0.61

DistrictSabarkantha Panch MahalSl.

No. ItemsMain Marginal Total %age Main

Marginal Total %age

15

PublicAdm&Defence,Comp. S.S.,Edu,Health&SSW(Lto Q)

10016 10016 20032 3.58 6970 6970 13940 1.95


2.6.2: Schedule of Rates in Gujarat

The Commissionerate of Rural Development, Government of Gujarat,

Conducted Time-Motion-study for NREGS activities in the six Tribal

Districts of Gujarat in 2006. The study found that NREGS implementing

agencies were practicing divergent Schedule of Rates. To eliminate such

divergencies, the CEPT University Ahmedabad, in their study of Time-

Motion developed a Unified Work Rate for DRDA-NREG activities. The

details of the Unified Work Rates as adopted by Gujarat are given below:

Table: 2.7Schedule of Rates in Gujarat

Sl.No. Description Unit

New SORsconsidering the DAincrease during 2006-07, & 2007-08

Quantity ofwork forMinimum Rs.100 Per day

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)Excavation of loose or soft soilfor foundation including sortingout and stacking of usefulmaterials and disposing ofexcavated stuff up to 50 M leada) Up to 1.5 meter to 3.0 meter Cum 55.65 1.79 CUM PER

DAYb) Between 1.5 meter to 3.0 meter Cum 61.66 1.62 CUM PER

DAY

1.

c) Between 3.0 meter to 5.0 meter Cum 86.63 1.49 CUM PERDAY

2. Excavation of dense or hard soil




(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)for foundation including sortingout and stacking of usefulmaterials and disposing ofexcavated stuff up to 50 m lead

a) Up to 1.5 meter to 3.0 meter Cum 72.01 1.61 CUM PERDAY

b) Between 1.5 meter to 3.0 meter Cum 79.52 1.25 CUM PERDAY

c) Between 3.0 meter to 5.0 meter Cum 85.51 1.17 CUM PERDAY

Excavation of hard murram forfoundation including sorting outand stacking of useful materialsand disposing of excavated stuffup 50 m leada) Up to 1.5 meter to 3.0 meter Cum 125.48 0.79 CUM PER

DAYb) Between 1.5 meter to 3.0

meterCum 128.32 0.77 CUM PER

DAY

3.

c) Between 3.0 meter to 5.0meter

Cum 140.43 0.71 CUM PERDAY

Excavation of soft rock notrequiring blasting for foundationincluding sorting out and stackingof useful material and disposingof excavated stuff up to 50 m leada) Up to 1.5 meter to 3.0 mt. Cum 198.17 0.50 CUM PER

DAYb) Between 1.5 meter to 3.0 mt. Cum 213.08 0.45 CUM PER

DAY

4.

c) Between 3.0 meter to 5.0 mt. Cum 343.45 0.29 CUM PERDAY

5. Excavation of hard rock forfoundation including sorting outand stacking of useful materialsand disposing of excavated stuff




(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)up to 50 m leada) Up to 1.5 meter to 3.0 meter Cum 429.35 0.23 CUM PER

DAYb) Between 1.5 meter to 3.0


DAYc) Between 3.0 meter to 5.0


DAYExtra for additional depth morethan 5.0 m excavation forfoundation including sorting outand stocking of useful materialand disposing of excavated stuffup to 50 m leada) Loose or soft soil Cum 71.15 1.41 CUM PER

DAYb) Dense or hard soil Cum 90.03 1.11 CUM PER

DAYc) Hard murram Cum 147.44 0.68 CUM PER

DAYd) Soft rock not requiring blasting Cum 351.45 0.28 CUM PER

DAY

6.

e) Hard rock Cum 536.32 0.18 CUM PERDAY

Add extra disposing of theexcavated stuff of above items forlead ofa) 50 m to 100m Cum

0 to 1.5 m Cum 62.24 1.61 CUM PERDAY

1.5 to 3.00 m Cum 68.75 1.46 CUM PERDAY


b) 100 m to 200 m Cum0 to 1.5 m Cum 68.83 1.45 CUM PER

DAY

7.

1.5 m to 3.00 m Cum 74.84 1.33 CUM PER




(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)DAY


c) 200 m to 300 m Cum0 to 1.5 m Cum 75.4 1.32 CUM PER

DAY1.5 m to 3.00 m Cum 81.41 1.22 CUM PER

DAY3.00 to 5.00 m Cum 85.35 1.15 CUM PER

DAYd) 300 m to 400 m Cum

0 to 1.5 m Cum 84.92 1.17 CUM PERDAY

1.5 m to 3.00 m Cum 90.93 1.09 CUM PERDAY


e) 400 m to 500 m Cum0 to 1.5 m Cum 110.87 0.90 CUM PER

DAY1.5 m to 3.00 m Cum 116.88 0.85 CUM PER

DAY3.00 to 5.00 m Cum 121.85 0.82 CUM PER

DAY

Earth WorksSl. No. Description Unit New SORs

ratedconsideringthe DAincreaseduring 2006-07, & 2007-08

Quantityof workforMinimum100 Rs.Per day

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)1.00 Earth work for embankment including

breaking clods dressing with all loadand lift (Excluding watering and

Sl. No. Description Unit New SORsratedconsideringthe DAincreaseduring 2006-07, & 2007-08

Quantityof workforMinimum100 Rs.Per day

consolidation)a) From borrow pit within land width CUM 43.30 2.30 CUM

PER DAYb) From borrow pit within 0.5 km lead CUM 109.21 0.95 CUM

PER DAYc) From borrow pit within 1.0 km lead CUM 109.71 0.91 CUM

PER DAYd) From borrow pit within 2.0 km lead CUM 110.29 0.83 CUM

PER DAYe) From borrow pit within 3.0 km lead CUM 140.35 0.71 CUM

PER DAYHand work in cutting including theslope and camber stacking andutilizing the cutting stuff in banks asdirected up to 200 meters from the endof cutting with all lead and lifta) Hard murrum (p 73) CUM 107.61 0.92 CUM

PER DAY

2.00

b) Soft rock not required blasting (p73)

CUM 149.52 0.86 CUMPER DAY


(i) The Government of Gujarat, after a comprehensive work-motion-studyhas developed a Unified SOR for NREGS. As a result, the problems ofdifferent rates for work turn-out have been eliminated;

(ii) It was, however, found, during the worksite visits, that awarenessamong beneficiaries was quite dismal;

(iii) The job-cards were found in the possession of Gram Pradhan;

(iv) This was resented by the bonafide job-cards holders;

(v) Wages were not received in time;

(vi) There was lack of cooperation from post office which was entrustedwith the task of disbursing wages to the NREGS workers.

(vii) Knowledge about SORs among the workers who were interviewed wasabsent; and a result, there was scope for workers getting shortchanged;

(viii) Payment was not made in time. It was found, in some cases, that manyworkers were not paid two-three months. This caused disappointmentamong workers.

2.7: Schedule of Rates for Works under NREGS: Madhya Pradesh

Before going into the details of the Schedule of Rates an attempthas been made here to highlight the workers magnitude and soilprofile of each of the Districts under the study. These factors aremost vital aspects for success of NREGS.


The proportion of cultivators and agricultural labourers are 41.77 and 37.61

percent respectively in Betul while in Tikamgarh the proportion of

cultivators and agricultural labourers was 64.45 and 16.93 percent

respectively.

With regard to construction workers, it may be seen that there were 1.70 and

2.59 percent construction workers in both Betul and Tikamgarh districts

respectively (See Table 2.8)

Table 2.8

Profile of surveyed districts in Madhya PradeshDistrict

Betul TikamgarhSl.No. ItemsMain Marginal Total %age Main Marginal Total %age

1 Total Population 1394421 12031602 Total Workers 417310 199536 616846 100.00 394762 170609 565371 100.003 Cultivators 212133 45538 257671 41.77 272696 91667 364363 64.454 Agr. Labourers 96124 135846 231970 37.61 38296 57447 95743 16.93

5 Plan.,Liv.,Fo.,Fish etc 7104 1950 9054 1.47 8307 4022 12329 2.18

6 Mining &Quarrying 10440 179 10619 1.72 898 92 990 0.18

7 HouseholdIndustry 8649 3361 12010 1.95 12564 6531 19095 3.38

8 Non-HH Industy 9477 2013 11490 1.86 6593 1731 8324 1.47

9 Ele., Gas &Water Supply 3104 81 3185 0.52 850 18 868 0.15

10 Construction 7606 2887 10493 1.70 10557 4106 14663 2.59

11 Wholesale &Retail Trade 15527 2963 18490 3.00 14531 2220 16751 2.96

12 Hotel &Restaurant 1487 238 1725 0.28 1073 153 1226 0.22

13Transport,Storage &Comm.

9438 904 10342 1.68 3985 571 4556 0.81

DistrictBetul TikamgarhSl.No. Items

Main Marginal Total %age Main Marginal Total %age

14FinancialIntermediation, &Real Estate

3685 1418 5103 0.83 2836 691 3527 0.62

15

PublicAdm&Defence,Comp. S.S.,Edu,Health&SSW(LtoQ)

32536 2158 34694 5.62 21576 1360 22936 4.06


2.7.2: Schedule of Rates in Madhya Pradesh

In Madhya Pradesh the Schedule of Rates of NREGS activities have been

based on studies of rates followed by Rural Engineering Department,

Government of Madhya Pradesh. The present rates are based on Notification

dated 05.052.2007. The details of SORs are given below:

JUNGLE CLEARANCE

NOTES : 1.1 Rates cover all costs of tools and plants required for clearance of

jungle and filling of trees including uprooting, stacking the cut and

felled-material within a lead of 50m. 1.2 Girth of trees shall be

generally measured at one mt.

Table: 2.9Schedule of Rates in Madhya Pradesh

Code Description Units Rate0101 Site clearance, cutting grass, raking into heaps and

removing off the premises (grass to become the propertyof the contractor)

Sqm. 0.75

0102 Jungle clearance including uprooting of rank vegetation,grass brush wood, saplings and tree not exceeding 30 cmgirth and removing not exceeding 50 meters outside theperiphery of the area cleared.

Sqm. 1.87

Code Description Units Rate0103 Deduct from items 0102 for uprooting not done. Sqm. 1.12

Cutting down trees (exceeding 30 cm girth, grubbing,uproot, filling pits and leveling off ground, loppingbranches, trimming, removing not exceeding 50 meter &staking serviceable material and cleaning site.a) Girth exceeding 30 cm and not exceeding 100 cm Each 348.98b) Girth exceeding 100 cm and not exceeding 150 cm Each 693.69c) Girth exceeding 150 cm and not exceeding 200 cm Each 697.26d) Girth exceeding 200 cm and not exceeding 250 cm Each 814.25

0104

e) Girth exceeding 250 cm and not exceeding 300 cm Each 929.250105 Deduction from items 0104 (a) to 0104 (e) for uprooting

not done.Each 50 % of

respectiveitem

0106 Uprooting of roots of trees including removing andstacking (Girth to be measured at G.L.)

Each 50% ofrespectiveitem

0107 Ordinary shrub jungle (area below 25% covered byshrubs) clearance involving removal of grass. Shrubs,bushes and twigs, excluding uprooting (for surveyworks)

0.27

0108 Medium shrub jungle (25% to 50% area covered byshrubs) clearance involving removal of grass. Shrubs,bushes and twigs, excluding uprooting out (for surveyworks)

Sqm. 0.54

0109 Thick shrub jungle (area above 50% covered by shrubs)clearance involving removal of grass. Shrubs, bushes andtwigs, excluding uprooting out (for survey works)

Sqm. 0.80

EXCAVATION

NOTES : 3.1 MEASUREMENTSMeasurement of earth work will generally be taken by pitmeasurement, only when such measurement are not practicable,cross sectional measurement may be taken.

Code Description Units RateEarth work in bulk excavation (exceeding 30cm in depth, 1.5 m in width as well as 10 sqmon plan) including disposal or stacking ofexcavated soil lead up to 50 m lift up to 1.5m, disposed soil to be leveled and neatlydressed.a) Loose or soft soil cum 29.24b) Dense or hard soil cum 37.83

0301

c) Hard moorum cum 50.15Earth work in bulk excavation (exceeding 30cm in depth, 1.5 m in width as well as 10 sqmon plan) including disposal or stacking ofexcavated soil lead up to 50 m lift up to 1.5 ma) Disintegrated or soft rock (not requiring

blasting) cum 119.82b) Hard rock requiring blasting cum 147.30

0302

c) Hard rock requiring chiselling (whereblasting is prohibited cum 257.9

Earth work in rough excavation bankingexcavated earth in layers not exceeding 20 cmin depth, breaking clods watering, rollingeach layer with 1/2 tonne roller or wooden orsteel hammers and rolling every third and topmost layer with power roller of minia) Loose or soft soil cum 36.54b) Dense or hard soil cum 45.30

0303

c) Hard moorum or Mud cum 51.13Earth work in rough excavation, fillingexcavated earth into depressions on bankingas directed, top surface to be leveled andneatly dressed.a) Loose or soft soil cum 32.48b) Dense or hard soil cum 41.76

0304

c) Hard moorum cum 46.930305 Deduct for not rolling with power roller

minimum 8 tonnes in item No. 0303 cum 2.210306 Deduct for not watering in item No. 0303 cum 1.450307

Earth work in excavation in trenches for

Code Description Units Ratefoundations and cables etc. not exceeding 1.5m in width and for shafts, wells, cesspits andthe like not exceeding 10 sqm on planincluding dressing of sides and ramming ofbottom lift up to 1.5 m includinga) Loose or soft soil cum 31.51b) Dense or hard soil cum 41.12c) Hard moorum cum 53.91Excavation in trenches for foundations andfor pipes, cables, etc. not exceeding 1.5 m inwidth and for shafts wells, cesspits and thelike not exceeding 10 sqm on plan includingdressing of sides and ramming of bottom liftup to 1.5 m including getting outa) Disintegrated or soft rock (not requiring

blasting) cum 133.36b) Hard rock requiring blasting cum 183.89

0308

c) Hard rock requiring chiselling (i.e. hardrock requiring blasting but where blastingis prohibited) cum 265.69

0309 Extra rates for quantities of work executed. Inor under water or in foul condition (extra ratefor the main item concerned is allowed onaccount of slow progress of works) cum

20 % ofrespectiveitem

Excavating post holes (or similar holes) up to0.5 cum including getting out the excavatedsoil, than returning the soil as required inlayers not exceeding 20 cm in depth,including consolidating each deposited layerby ramming, watering etc, disposing ofa) Loose or soft soil nos. 29.53b) Dense or hard soil nos. 38.20

0310

c) Disintegrated or soft rock (not requiringblasting) nos. 77.61

0311

Boring holes 3.5 m deep in ordinary soil (forcast in situ piles) and getting out the soil(under remaining if any shall be paid forseparately) and disposal of the surplus

Code Description Units Rateexcavated soil as directed within a lead of 50m for- Diameter of piles.a) 200 mm nos. 172.82b) 250 mm nos. 206.84c) 300 mm nos. 241.77Extra for under-ramming inside the boreholes for under reamed piles.a) 200 mm nos. 65.66b) 250 mm nos. 82.30

0312

c) 300 mm nos. 98.06Add to or deduct from the rate for bore holesof 3.5 m. depths, if the bore-holes are madedeeper or shallower than 3.5 metresa) 200 mm RM 55.16b) 250 mm RM 73.54

0313

c) 300 mm RM 82.3Add in item No. 0301 (For well excavation)a) For every 1.5 m after 1.5 m initial depth up

to 6.0 m cum 5.15b) For every 1.5 m after 6 m depth up to 10.5

m cum 6.87

0314

c) For every 1.5 m after 10.5 m depth up to15.0 m cum 8.59

Add in item No. 0302 (For well excavation)a) For every 1.5m after 1.5m initial depth upto

6.0m cum 7.73b) For every 1.5m after 6.0m depth upto

10.5m cum 9.44

0315

c) For every 1.5m after 10.5m depth upto18.0m cum 12.02

Surface dressing of ground, including removing vegetation, and/orun-equalities not exceeding 15 cm deep and disposal of rubbishlead up to 50 m and lift up to 1.5 ma) Looser or soft soil sqm. 2.30

0316

b) Dense or hard soil sqm. 3.23Dag-belinga) Single spade stroke minimum 75 mm deep RM 0.14

0317

b) Double spade "v" shaped stroke 100 mm RM 0.27

Code Description Units Ratedeep

0318 Extra for every additional Lead beyond 50meters or part thereof up to 200 m for every50 m lead cum 12.75

0319 Pumping out water caused by springs tidal orriver seepage, broken water mains or drainsor well point seepage, broken water mains ordrains or well point pumping and the like. kl. 29.33

0320 Deduct from item no. 0301, 0303, 0304, 0307& 0308 If dressing either not done or notdone as per specification

cum 10% extraofrespectiveitem

0321 Dry silt clearance in drainage and culvert etc. cum 20.87

SPECIAL ITEMS OF EARTH/MASONRY DAM AND CANALS

NOTES : 23.1 Rates include all lead and all lifts for all materials for all items

unless otherwise specified. 23.2 The item of stripping shall be

payable for depths up to 15 cm only. If greater