Thrust laid on regular, concurrent social audit of Panchayats
*Inadequate DISHA meetings, poor progress of VDP detected
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Mar 14: The Standing Committee on Rural Development of Lok Sabha has pointed out various shortcomings in the implementation of Rural Development (RD) sector schemes in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and has asked the Union Ministry of Rural Development to coordinate with the concerned authorities of the Union Territory so as to bring improvement.
The Standing Committee, which submitted its report to the Parliament few days back, has noticed shortcomings/slackness vis-à-vis social audits of Gram Panchayats, Sansaad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY), implementation of Village Development Plan (VDP) and inadequate meetings of DISHA Committees etc.
In order to ensure proper monitoring of implementation of schemes, there is a provision for conduct of regular and concurrent social audits of the Gram Panchayats and auditing standards have been issued by the Government of India.
As per the report of the Parliamentary Panel, against a total of 4353 Gram Panchayats in Jammu and Kashmir, 2279 Gram Panchayats (52.37%) were planned for regular social audits at least once in Financial Year 2020-21. However, only 295 Gram Panchayats (12.94%) were audited during the year till date.
Similarly, 1333 concurrent social audits were planned but only 887 were conducted as on January 15, 2021 by the Rural Development Department of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The slackness in the conduct of regular and concurrent audits is notwithstanding the fact that it is during this exercise that shortcomings and lacunas in the implementation of the schemes get detected for initiating corrective measures.
About Sansaad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY), the Standing Committee has pointed out that a total of 190 projects were planned under the Village Development Plan (VDP) during the year 2017-18 but only 141 projects were completed. However, for the financial years 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21, the Parliamentary Panel has pointed out zero progress.
About VDP projects implemented through various schemes of the Department of Rural Development, the Standing Committee has mentioned that a total of 52 projects were planned during 2017-18 but 45 were completed. However, for the years 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 the Parliamentary Panel has mentioned zero in the columns of projects planned and projects completed.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Members of Parliament identify the Gram Panchayats to be developed into Adarsh Gram and the Gram Panchayats adopted under SAGY prepare Village Development Plans through a participatory process under the guidance of the Members of Parliament.
The VDP includes prioritized time-bound activities to achieve holistic and integrated development of the villages. Under SAGY framework, the development of Gram Panchayats is envisaged through convergence and implementation of existing Government schemes and programmes.
As far as DISHA Committee are concerned, the Parliamentary Panel has pointed out that six meetings were convened in 2018-19 while as no such meeting was convened in 2019-20. However, in 2020-21 only two such meetings were convened despite the fact that at least one meeting of each of the 20 districts is required to be conducted in a year.
It is worthwhile to mention here that the task of monitoring implementation of around 40 schemes/programmes in the Rural Development sector has been assigned to DISHA Committees so that all these schemes are executed in an efficient and transparent manner and benefits reach the targeted population in a time bound manner.
The schemes whose implementation is required to be monitored by the DISHA Committees include MGNREGA, Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana, PMGSY, National Social Assistant Programme, Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojna Gramin, National Rural Drinking Water Programme, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme, Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation National Health Mission etc.
The Parliamentary Panel has made several recommendations to the Union Rural Development Ministry and has laid thrust on more coordinated efforts so that objectives behind all these schemes are achieved by overcoming the shortcomings and lacunas in implementation process.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
