Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 17: Department of Rural Development and Panchayti Raj today ordered appointment of Ombudspersons under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act-2005 (MGNREGA) for the districts of Poonch, Kupwara and Bandipora.
According to the order in this regard, Zaffar Ahmad Banday, Neelofar Jan and Mohammad Ishaq Shah have been engaged as Ombudspersons for Poonch, Kupwara and Bandipora, respectively.
The appointments have been made on the recommendation by the Selection Committee constituted by the Government in this regard and in pursuance to provisions of Section 27(1) of MGNREGA.
The tenure of Ombudspersons shall be two years, extendable not more than twice by one year each based on a performance appraisal process or till the incumbent attains the age of 68 years, whichever is earlier.
The Ombudspersons shall have power to receive complaints for redressal of grievances from MGNREGA workers and others and pass awards within 30 days from the date of receipt of complaint. They shall issue direction for conducting spot investigation and initiate proceedings suo-moto in the event of any circumstances arising within their jurisdiction that may cause any grievance including on issues related to delayed payment of wages or non-payment of unemployment allowance as recorded in the MIS.
The Ombudspersons shall be responsible for sending a quarterly report to the Chief Secretary and Secretary, State / UT Nodal Department recommending appropriate action. The report shall specially highlight cases where action needs to be taken against erring MGNREGA functionaries for their failure to redress grievances.
The Ombudspersons shall be allowed compensation, in the form of the fee of Rs 1000 per sitting with maximum upper limit of Rs 20,000 per month. Wherever Ombudspersons want to visit any part of the district for the purpose of conducting field enquiry, the Additional District Programme Coordinator shall provide suitable transport facility.
The office of MGNREGA Ombudsperson shall be located at the District Headquarters. All necessary support to enable the Ombudsperson to carry out the assigned functions, including support staff, office equipment, complaint box and telephone helpline etc, shall be provided by the Additional District Programme Coordinator.
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