Criticism, complaints and suggestions are a permanent feature of a democratic system. Serious Governments attach great value to them because these provide guidelines for amelioration of the lot of people. If complaints come from legislators, these enjoy added value.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), was introduced in the State in 2007. It has great relevance to the nation as a whole but particularly to the vast rural population of India. Real India lives in her villages and it is there that we have the maximum unemployment. This is also true of our State. The MGNREGA was introduced as a well considered scheme of overcoming rural unemployment. Proper implementation of the scheme meant that uplifting the rural sections of State population.
However, implementation of the scheme has not been as smooth and flawless as was expected despite clear guidelines provided by the Union Ministry of Rural Development. Complaints began pouring in at the State Department of Rural Development. Complaints as such, would not be taken as anything very serious and damaging provided competent authorities took prompt steps to address them and set thing right. Unfortunately that did not happen. Was it out of lack of a sense of responsibility and unhealthy work culture or was it because of vested interests at certain levels, remains to be probed.
The real hurting thing about disregard for proper and result-oriented implementation of the scheme is that the legislators raised the issue at District Development Board level and also on the floor of the Legislative Assembly when the assembly was in session. Despite these remonstrations, the Government did not move and did not consider remedial measures as something serious. This attitude of the Government is not justifiable. One significant stipulation in the Act is that an Ombudsman is to be appointed by a Committee constituted by the General Administrative Department. Actually the Committee was supposed to submit a panel of names for the position of Ombudsman to the Government for appointments to the posts. The Ombudsman was supposed to function as check and balance on the implementation of the scheme and also to comment on irregularities if these were detected at any stage. No ombudsman has been appointed so far. Not to speak of Ombudsman, even the Committee that had to be constituted to suggest a panel of names of Ombudsmen has not come up. Stretching on the matter for seven long years, during which complaints have been piling up, create several doubts among the people concerned. The main complaint is that there is a nexus between the contractors who have been allotted various developmental works and the functionaries of local organs of the MGNREGA. Though the Minister for Rural Development has conceded that some irregularities could be there in the implementation, and has promised transparency and accountability, but according to the saying that taste of the pudding is in eating, the complaints need to be looked into immediately and proper remedial measures taken. It is very sad indeed that even on repeated reminders from the Union Ministry of Rural Development Ombudsmen have not been appointed.
The focus of the top authorities in the Rural Development Department should be to ensure that regular payment is paid to the actual work hours put in by the card holders and that no fake entries are made and payments shown. No genuine card holder has to be deprived of the right to work and wages. The element of human rights also comes into this issue. Therefore, we would like to impress upon the Rural Development Department to order comprehensive inquiry into the complaints and irregularities and ensure that justice is done to the rural working class and they are not left to the mercy of contractors.
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