Job scheme way short of target: Jakhar - Says none benefitted in 46.75% villages; state yet to clear Rs 60-cr dues
Monday, 30/03/2015
http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Tribune/
Abohar : The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme, hailed by the Centre as the largest and most ambitious social security and public works programme in the world, benefitted none in 6,104 of 13,054 villages in Punjab this financial year.
The Centre had released Rs 189.48 crore to the state under the scheme, but the latter has not paid Rs 60.03 crore dues to job card holders even as only two days are left for the financial year to end.
According to information procured by Leader of the Opposition Sunil Jakhar, the state could only provide an average of six working days to 10,85,866 beneficiaries. The scheme was initiated to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
The outstanding dues till date in different districts are: Moga Rs 8.84 crore, Ludhiana Rs 6.61 crore, Faridkot Rs 6.59 crore, Muktsar Rs 6.06 crore, Bathinda Rs 4.70 crore, Ferozepur Rs 3.55 crore, Fatehgarh Sahib Rs 3.22 crore, Gurdaspur Rs 3.10 crore, Barnala Rs 2.55 crore, Fazilka Rs 2.28 crore, Nawanshahr Rs 1.80 crore, Kapurthala Rs 1.73 crore, Sangrur Rs 1.57 crore, Mansa Rs 1.53 crore, Ropar Rs 1.36 crore, Patiala Rs 1.34 crore, Mohali Rs 1.30 crore, Hoshiarpur Rs 1.22 crore, Pathankot Rs 1.21 crore, Amritsar Rs 59.38 lakh, Jalandhar Rs 55.16 lakh and Tarn Taran Rs 53.23 lakh.
Jakhar alleged the state had diverted central funds for other non-productive and political purposes.
“It has been the practice in the Rural Development Department to exhaust MGNREGA funds preferably on the purchase of material,” he alleged.
