To ensure more transparency in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS) in the states and Union Terrirotires (UTs), it has been decided that henceforth attendance at the worksites will be captured via the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) App only.
The app allows geo-tagged time-stamped photographs of the workers to be uploaded twice a day. This not only assists in supervision but also allows faster payment processing. If the workers fail to upload the photos and mark attendance, they will end up not being paid for the day.
The NMMS app is used to record attendance at work sites where muster rolls are issued for 20 or more beneficiaries, based on the feedback and suggestions received from the states and UTs. Though the decision was taken last year, a year was allowed for testing and transition.
Now, the Ministry of Rural Development has decided that the NMMS app will be mandatorily used to capture attendance for all the works (except individual beneficiary works) with effect from January 2023.
However, in February, workers of NREGA had gone on an indefinite strike against the mandatory marking of attendance on the app. The workers drew attention to the technical issues that are likely to crop up in the software. Add to that the lack of smartphones and internet coverage in rural areas, and the app could be challenging to use.
As per the Ministry, the app has been pilot tested in Alwar, Rajasthan and its applicability was checked before its launch.
