Paralyzed MGNREGA

Many a time we have touched on the subject of State government’s inability to implement some of the national level projects of the Union Government even if these are crucial to the development and progress of the State. It is a regrettable situation that the important schemes of development of the State are left half way or are not taken up with all the seriousness that is due. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme, the flagship programme of the Central Government, is considered world’s largest scheme of providing employment to the unemployed people especially in the rural India. Union Ministry of Rural Development Department and Panchayati Raj extended the jurisdiction of this scheme to J&K also.  This is an elaborate scheme under which various officers have to be inducted into service at District, Block and Tehsil levels. The nomenclature of the operative staff and the functions of these officials have been clearly defined in the basic blue print of the scheme. But owing to unknown reasons and political interference these fresh appointments at various levels have not been made in the State despite a long time when the scheme was introduced. Even at Gram Panchayat level where Gram Rozgar Sevak (GRS) had to be appointed to facilitate providing employment to the villagers have not been appointed. The entire scheme has been left to oblivion. The scheme has been left to the care of Assistant Commissioners on district level and they are already overworked and cannot do justice to the new task set forth for their care.
State authorities would do well to mount their attention to this very lucrative scheme and recruit the staff that has been provided for and make the entire scheme run smoothly in the State. How can we remove unemployment among rural youth if schemes of this significance are not made use of?