`Only 57 pc works completed under MGNREGA in J&K`

Only 57 per cent of works under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act have been completed in Jammu and Kashmir with 90 per cent of funds already utilised.

Jammu: Only 57 per cent of works under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) have been completed in Jammu and Kashmir with 90 per cent of funds already utilised. According to state Rural Development Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar, an amount of Rs 786.48 crore had been released by both state and Centre under MGNREGA for 1,10,115 works from 2010 to January 31, 2013 but only 63,158 works have been completed at an expenditure of Rs 707.76 crore. The minister has said this in response to a question by Congress legislator Shenaz Ganai in the Upper House of the State Legislature here today. The data shows that while the government has spent nearly 90 per cent of Rs 786.48 crore for various works in the past three years, it has only been able to complete 57.73 per cent of the total 1,10,115 works undertaken by it. In 2010-11, the government has spent Rs 131.88 crore under the scheme for the completion of 11,049 works, while in 2011-12 it incurred an expenditure of Rs 314.77 crore to complete 25,921 works. However, the works taken up by the government during 2010-11 stood at 20,442 and the funds released for these works was Rs 150.03 crore. Similarly, for the year 2011-12, a sum of Rs 366.37 crore was released for 42,649 works, according to the data issued by the government. Meanwhile, the Minister said that 351.34 lakh man-days were generated under MGNREGA in the past three years till January 31, 2013. Sagar further said that an amount of Rs 2.43 crore, Rs 13.2 crore and Rs 20.23 crore has been allotted during the years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 ending January respectively under Rural Sanitation Scheme. PTI