Early Times Report
jammu, Dec 13: The alleged lackluster approach of the State Employment Guarantee Council to ensure proper implementation of various schemes under National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, has virtually defeated the objective of the scheme.
According to the details available with Early Times the council has met only once in five years due to which the key decisions have not been implemented.
Sources said that the State Employment Guarantee Council was constituted in 2006 to monitor and review the implementation of the MGNREGA Scheme at the State level. It was scheduled to meet at least twice in a year. However, against the requirement of ten meetings, only one meeting was held in the last five years rendering the monitoring and review processes ineffective.
They further said that even the decisions taken in the meeting held earlier regarding appointment of ombudsman, providing of adequate staff like Programme Officers, Gram Rozgar Sahayak (GRS), Technical Assistants, strengthening of SEGC cell, appointment of a Senior Engineer, appointment of an expert person for convergence of works, etc. had not been fully implemented.
"Due to non-appointment of the consultants at the State level, the MGNREGS cell, which was to provide technical support in key areas like information, education and communication strategies, training needs, planning, monitoring and evaluation and financial management under the Scheme could not exercise its valid monitoring in the key areas," they added.
Astonishingly, the mandatory Annual Report of the State Employment Guarantee Council has not been prepared by the Rural Development Department.
Pertinently, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) was notified with the objective of enhancing livelihood security in Rural Areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual labour. |
