news details |
|
|
| J&K's MGNREGA woes continue, targets remain unachieved | | Rajouri, Jammu worst hit | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
JAMMU, Dec 18: J&K has left much to be desired from the Centrally sponsored Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
Ineffective monitoring coupled with 'Chalta hai' attitude of the people who were offered jobs under this act has resulted in benefits not reaching to the adequate households. Officers from Civil Secretariat to district headquarters have seemingly preferred documentary evidence over practical ground reality. Focus has seemingly been on filling up muster rolls and showing higher expenditure.
According to report on MGNREGA, a copy of which is with Early Times, 12,39,660 people registered themselves across the state for issuance of job cards. Of these, J&K issued cards to around 10, 97, 887. For reasons best known to the Rural Development Department and local MLAs as well as Ministers; 1,41,773 people were not issued job cards despite being registered with the department.
Staggered pace and computer woes are the reasons Rural Development Department gives you about huge figure of people without job cards. However, a look at the people without cards brings about an entirely different story. Rajouri is the worst hit with highest number of households without job cards. The figure is 23,343. Jammu is second in the list with 17,385 households without jobs cards.
Anantnag has 13071 households without job cards. On the contrary, 682 households are without job cards in Srinagar district, 574 in Kargil and 1936 in Pulwama district. The manner in which job cards have been issued under MGNREGA does indicate political preference of ruling coalition of National Conference (NC) and Congress. There is more to the story.
Of the job cards which have been issued, around 192232 are not in use anymore. Just 2.6 percent workers have photos uploaded on the website of MGNREGA. According to figures for the year 2013-14; 5,50,232 workers demanded employment under the act. Around 547537 were offered employment and of this, just 306683 were provided employment. Moreover, 5403 households completed 100 days of work.
J&K issued around 175319 muster rolls. Of these, just 82, 838 were filled. If the works taken up under MGNREGA are taken into account, records show that 221359 works were started. Of these, State administrative set-up as well as field agencies managed to get 110757 completed. This is 51.649 percent of the total works taken up for execution. Even among those taken up for execution, 93, 911 are running behind schedule while 214443 works are those which are running behind schedule.
Centre has repeatedly told Jammu and Kashmir Government that large gap between the projections and achievements indicates that the processes like identification, planning of works, consolidation of plans, and preparation of appropriate shelf of projects, implementation of these projects through PRI's and their regular monitoring has not been fully adhered to.
Though the state has been assured that funds are always available but with a rider. "Funds are not a constraint under MGNREGA. The release of central share to the state depends largely on an agreed and realistic labour budget and how quickly and efficiently state is able to utilize the funds available with it and how it addresses institutional/ programmatic issues," the Ministry has said in the report. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
