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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Fresh sparring between Congress and NCP over Jairam's suggestion

Fresh sparring between Congress and NCP over Jairam's suggestion

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published Published on Nov 2, 2011   modified Modified on Nov 2, 2011

-The Hindu

 

Congress taunts its coalition partner, asks it to first take care of its existing portfolios

Sparring over portfolios between the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra has begun anew after Union Minister Jairam Ramesh's suggestion that the Rural Development Department implement the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

While the NCP is happy about the suggestion, the Congress — which holds the Water Conservation and Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS) portfolio and is in charge of implementing the MGNREGS — has taunted its coalition partner and asked it to first take care of its existing portfolios efficiently.

NCP leader and State Rural Development Minister Jayant Patil hailed Mr. Ramesh's suggestion as justified. “However, the Chief Minister has to take a call on this suggestion to change the department,” he said.

On September 12, Mr. Ramesh wrote to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan that one reason why the rural employment programme was lagging behind in Maharashtra was that its implementation was entrusted to the Department of Water Conservation and EGS, whereas the administration of panchayats lay with the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department.

Panchayats were accorded a pivotal role in planning for implementation of the MGNREGS, Mr. Ramesh pointed out.

Earlier, on August 25, Mr. Ramesh and senior officials had a discussion on the scheme with Mr. Chavan. On September 6, Mr. Patil met Mr. Ramesh and expressed his concerns over the implementation of the MGNREGS in Maharashtra.

Mr. Ramesh also sent a note highlighting the concerns over implementation and said he expected Maharashtra to be a pacesetter in the MGNREGS like Andhra Pradesh.

If Mr. Ramesh's suggestion is accepted by Mr. Chavan, the NCP will gain one more key portfolio. Already, there has been a lot of bitterness over the sharing of portfolios between the allies.

The Congress has already lost the key departments of Finance, Irrigation, Power, Home and Planning to the NCP — something Mr. Chavan keeps talking about with regret.

Mr. Patil has, however, clarified that it is not the NCP's wish to take over the Rural Development department and the suggestion has come from the Union Minister.

Maharashtra had pioneered the EGS since 1972 when the State was faced with a severe drought and it was a front-trunner in providing rural employment on demand.

With the recent norms on tightening payment and other regulations, the scheme is flagging and there is very little attendance at job sites.

According to the MGNREGS website, Maharashtra provided employment to 6,05, 854 households this year and spent over Rs 300 crore. Right now only 8,205 job card holders are on work sites.

The Hindu, 2 November, 2011, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2590287.ece


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