Panchayat members’ strike enters 3rd day
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 5: All Jammu Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC)—a frontline organisation fighting for the empowerment of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in J&K, urged upon the Lt Governor Girish Chandra Murmu to hold fresh probe into the scams which surfaced in the Rural Development Department during past ten years and ensure premature retirement of the corrupt officials facing charges.
The organization also blamed the officials of Rural Development Department (RDD) for scuttling effective implementation of MGNREGA scheme in J&K.
On the third day of ongoing hunger strike launched by the elected Panchayat members under the leadership of AJKPC state president Anil Sharma against the non-clearance of MGNREGA liabilities, the elected Panchayat members said that the MGNREGA liabilities had been created in J&K due to ill-intentions of RDD officials, including Junior Engineers (JEs) and Village Level Workers (VLOs).
“The RDD has become a den of corruption where the officers from lower rank to higher rank are involved in making money through illegal means. For getting administrative approval to clearing the estimation of plans, the most of the RDD officials always demand money/ commission. Even the MLAs and the MPs have not been able to keep a check on these malpractices. It was due to these malpractices that the Centre’s flagship MGNREGA scheme had not been able to yield its desired results even after its commencement many years ago,” he added.
“With the provision of transfer of money directly into the accounts of beneficiaries and suppliers who had been supplying material for development works in rural areas, RDD officials have been finding it difficult to make money through illegal means and they are now resorted to creating obstacles in clearing liabilities of MGNREGA scheme,” he said.
The AJKPC leader urged the Union Government and the Lieutenant Governor to order an inquiry to weed out these corrupt practices from the RDD so that all Central sponsored schemes including MGNREGA can reach to rural masses in an effective and transparent manner.
Meanwhile, the Sarpanches and Panches from various parts of Kashmir Valley and Jammu division continued their hunger strike at Dogra Chowk and raised noisy slogans against the RDD and its Secretary Sheetal Nanda for misleading the Union Government and the Lieutenant Governor over MGNREGA issue.
Meanwhile, Congress today extended open support by joining the ongoing hunger strike launched by Sarpanches and Panches, seeking clearing of pending payments and liabilities under MGNERGA scheme worth one thousand crores of rupees for the last over four years.
Extending full support of the party to the agitation launched by Sarpanches and Panches under the aegis of AJKPC as a team of Senior Congress leaders led by chief spokesperson JKPCC Ravinder Sharma, former minister and president DCC Samba Manjit Singh, former Minister DCC president Rajouri Shabir Ahmed Khan, DCC president Jammu (Rural) Th Hari Singh Chib, senior leader and Sarpanch Ram Saroop Sharma, Secretary PCC Neeraj Gupta, Chairman PCC Unorganised Workers Congress Rajveer Singh and Co-Cordinator PCC Social Media Cell Sahil Sharma joined the hunger strike at Dogra Chowk, today.
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