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MGNREGA, power politics, and computerization in Andhra Pradesh

Masiero, Silvia; Maiorano, Diego

Authors

Silvia Masiero

Diego Maiorano



Abstract

The link between e-governance and accountability of state administrations for service provision has been problematized in the literature to date. However, little is known about its application to anti-poverty programmes, of which public workfare schemes are an increasingly important subset. In this paper we fill the gap with a study of MGNREGA, India’s largest workfare scheme, as it is being computerized in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. A state-level information system was devised to ensure transparency of transactions, and hence combat the illicit diversion of the programme’s funds to non-entitled recipients. But while doing so, the system carries a policy of centralization, which concentrates decision-making power in the hands of a limited set of actors rather than distributing it across the programme’s stakeholders. In particular the Field Assistants, appointed officials responsible for the village-level management of the scheme, have direct control on the information inputted in the system, which reinforces their position of authority rather than challenging it in favor of greater empowerment of wageseekers. Furthermore, wage payments are traced by the information system till they reach the disbursement agencies, but are prone to capture in the “last mile” where workers collect their salaries, which results in greater vulnerability for them. As a result, MGNREGA workers are constructed by the new information system as sheer beneficiaries rather than active participants in the programme, which concurs to crystallizing power structures rather than resulting in wageseekers’ empowerment. Lessons are drawn for other states currently computerizing their social safety nets.

Citation

Masiero, S., & Maiorano, D. (in press). MGNREGA, power politics, and computerization in Andhra Pradesh. Forum for Development Studies, 45(1), https://doi.org/10.1080/08039410.2017.1345785

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jun 20, 2017
Online Publication Date Jul 3, 2017
Deposit Date Jun 23, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Forum for Development Studies
Print ISSN 0803-9410
Electronic ISSN 1891-1765
Publisher Routledge
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 45
Issue 1
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/08039410.2017.1345785
Keywords accountability, e-governance, anti-poverty policy, MGNREGA, India, Andhra Pradesh
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/871013
Publisher URL http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08039410.2017.1345785
Additional Information This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Forum for development Studies on 03 July 2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/08039410.2017.1345785

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