The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) promises the largest ever employment programme in human history. Entitlements under MGNREGA are demand-driven and constitutionally protected. Even so there is a real danger that lack of awareness among intended beneficiaries and absence of implementation capability among Gram Panchayats (GPs, the chief implementing agency), will mean that the full potential of MGNREGA is not realised. To meet this challenge SPS set up the National Consortium of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) for MGNREGA in 2007 (www.nregaconsortium.in). The Consortium includes 58 CSO partners in 87 blocks of 55 most backward districts across 11 states of India, working with about 750,000 families to make MGNREGA a success. SPS plays the role of technical and social empowerment of these partners.
The Consortium seeks to move beyond the more traditional civil society watchdog role to improving MGNREGA implementation in all its various dimensions. This, of course, incorporates the vigilance role but focuses on an integrated approach to planning, implementation and social audit of MGNREGA works. A key element of the Consortium's strategy is to facilitate partnerships between grass-roots CSOs and GPs. The Consortium's work on the ground has led to a very significant improvements in awareness of entitlements among workers and quality of assets created under MGNREGA and also better planning and execution. The two reports of the Consortium, released in 2009 and 2011 by respective Union Ministers for Rural Development, have helped shape several initiatives in the policy space for MGNREGA reform. The Consortium's consultations with state governments have helped to foster partnerships between state government and civil society.
SPS is also working towards strengthening the network of civil society organisations engaged in Non-Pesticide Management (NPM) agriculture. This network aims to facilitate cross-learning between different organisations that promote NPM practices and lend transparency and legitimacy to the NPM movement. The NPM network includes 25 partners working with 25,000 farmers in 15 States, covering 48 products, including cereals, millets, pulses and spices.
In association with Hindustan Unilever Foundation, SPS has set up the Water Practitioner's Network (WPN) with practitioners from across the country. The purpose of WPN is to create a broad-based engagement on water-related issues, both at the grass-roots as well as at policy levels. The vision of WPN is to bring together many water practitioners and work together to take forward the agendas of democratisation of water and water for the common good. It seeks to consolidate the experiences of water practitioners to facilitate cross-learning across the network.
