Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Panchayats told to hold regular meetings on rural jobs scheme by Ruhi Tewari

Panchayats told to hold regular meetings on rural jobs scheme by Ruhi Tewari

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Mar 3, 2011   modified Modified on Mar 3, 2011
The government wants to make its rural jobs guarantee programme more open to scrutiny and empower its beneficiaries by getting panchayats (village councils) to periodically disclose information about the scheme’s functioning in that area.

To this end, the ministry of rural development has issued an advisory to village panchayats, making it mandatory for them to convene regular gram sabhas (village general bodies). The initiative is also aimed at making the scheme run under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) less centralized.

“There is already a provision in the Act which requires panchayats to regularly convene such meetings and make proactive disclosures,” said an official in the ministry with responsibility for the programme, who did not want to be named. “However, when we found that a lot of panchayats are not doing so, we decided to issue them an advisory as the nodal agency for the scheme’s implementation.”

Mint has reviewed a copy of the advisory.

The Act mandates that at least half the tasks under the programme should be executed by the panchayat, making the body key to its success.

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is the marquee job guarantee programme of the United Progressive Alliance government and is overseen by the ministry of rural development.

The scheme, which promises 100 days of labour to each rural household every year, currently provides employment to 43.7 million households, while generating 1,587.9 million persondays of labour. The programme has been allocated Rs.40,000 crore for fiscal 2011-12.

“The CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) performance audit of the scheme had found several faults in its implementation and lack of mandatory proactive disclosures by local bodies was one of them, which is what we are now trying to rectify,” said the official cited above.

Misappropriation of MGNREGS funds, non-payment of wages for work done and fake job cards have been some of the recurring complaints about the programme’s functioning.

Jawed Khan of the Centre for Budget Governance and Accountability said the ministry’s policies are also at fault.

“It is true that, except in some high-performing states like Rajasthan, panchayats in most states fail to comply with these requirements,” Khan said. “All these things are already covered in social audits, but if the ministry does not conduct such audits regularly, what is the point of sending such instructions? There are two problems with the scheme’s implementation—lack of decentralization and the ministry not conducting social audits.”

The 24 February advisory states that the meetings need to be convened “to ensure due compliance with the statutory requirements of transparency, accountability and proactive disclosure of key documents while implementing Mahatma Gandhi NREGS”.

The ministry has asked panchayats to disclose information about work completed or under way, wages that have been paid, details of materials purchased, including quantity and price, and the name of the vendor.

Panchayats are also required to give a detailed list of all people who have worked under the scheme along with their job card numbers, number of days worked as well as wages paid.

Live Mint, 4 March, 2011, http://www.livemint.com/2011/03/03223955/Panchayats-told-to-hold-regula.html?atype=tp


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close