Mishra is credited with revamping Department of Rural Development during his stint as minister. The department won three national prizes/recognition during his tenure. Two of these prizes were for effective and transparent implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act,The department won the first prize in ‘Transparency and Accountability in Implementation in MGNREGA’and the second prize in ‘Convergence in MGNREGA’. [7]
To ensure transparency and accountability in Department of Rural Development,all panchayat bank accounts were mapped on the Central Plan Scheme Monitoring System to streamline release of funds from district to panchayats. E-muster rolls were made mandatory to put an end to fake muster rolls and to make the process transparent and fool proof and regular social audits were conducted by gram sabhas. [8] Weekly MGNREGA Diwas was also observed every Wednesday to monitor the quality of work and processes in MGNREGA. [9] Information related to MGNREGA was put in public domain through a management information system. [10] Mishra also made it mandatory for the schemes to be wall painted,photographed and uploaded on a management information system.
For effective convergence with state rural development mission (Jeevika),self-employment and small entrepreneurship scheme as poultry farming,pond management,goat Rearing etc. were allowed to be taken up under MGNREGA. [11] Young professionals with degrees from prestigious institutes like LSE and IRMA were hired to implement state projects under National Rural Livelihood Mission. [12]
Department of Rural Development,under the stewardship of Mishra inked memoranda of understanding with companies to provide training to the youth in state through skill development centres. [13]
To bring about transparency and integrity in implementation of Indira Awas Yojna he came up with the innovative idea of holding block level disbursement camps for beneficiaries of the scheme. These camps were held in front of Ministers and Secretaries in charge of various districts,Divisional Commissioner,District Magistrate and panchayat level public representatives. [10]
In an unprecedented move,Mishra adopted a policy of strict action to ensure people completed construction of their houses within a stipulated time period . Block administration was directed to issue white notices to those failed to complete their houses after two years of getting the first instalment. If the beneficiaries did not take action even after three months of issuance of the white notices,they are again issued red notices. [14]
If he took action against defaulters,Mishra also made sure that he encouraged those who adhered to deadlines. An incentive of Rs. 2000 was announced for Mahadalit beneficiaries who completed their houses within two month of getting their second installment. Madalit families were also given incentives to build toilets in their houses. [15] Much before "Swach Bharat Abhiyan" gained popularity,Mishra took steps to enforce cleanliness by linking payment of final installment to Indira Awas Yojna beneficiaries with construction of toilets. [10]
Mishra also introduced monitoring of Indira Awas Yojna completions through satellite based geotagged and time-stamped photography. This was an unheard of practice in Bihar and unparalleled in Indira Awas Yojna monitoring in the nation. [16]
Mishra facilitated the setting up of online recruitment portal "Samvida" to recruit over 10,000 block and panchayat level staff for looking after Indira Awas Yojna. These recruitments were made in a short period of four months. [17] Project Samvida got national recognition when it won the National Award for e-Governance (gold medal ) in the specific sector award category. [18]
Department of Rural Development under Mishra’s leadership played an active role in setting up Development Management Institute,a state of art management institute in Bihar. This institute has been oriented to create a cadre of development management professionals and enhance competence of existing practitioners.
During Mishra’s tenure as the Minister for Department of Rural Development,Bihar became the first State to publish the draft list of Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) and distribute it to the actually surveyed people for putting forth their claims and objection against the draft publication. This was a mammoth task considering the size of population and limitations like delay in release of funds from the GoI(Government of India). Fifty lakh application were received from across the state for redressal of claims and objections in the draft publication which were disposed of in a record time. This SECC data was made available to the Food and Consumer Protection Department,Bihar and thus became the basis of rollout of the Food Security Act in Bihar. [19]
As the Rural Development Minister,Mishra paved the way for creation of a separate cadre of Rural Development Officers and young officers were appointed for all 534 Blocks of Bihar through Bihar Public Service Commission. These officers were provided quality training of governmental rules and regulations,best practices in management and leadership,need for re-engineering governmental process,official etiquette and sensitivity to the needy at Bihar Institute of Public Administration and Rural Development. He also designed a performance appraisal mechanism for the regular and transparent evaluation of these BDO’s across state with the help of Harvard Kennedy School. [20]
