New Delhi, Jan 18: The government has directed all state governments to take necessary action at the grass root level to ensure proper channelisation of funds under the National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme (NREG).
Taking into account the critical observations made in the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) report on NREG, Union Minister for Rural Development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh today said he has always conducted regular vigilance at all levels to ensure proper implementation of NREG.
"The scheme itself is not at fault. Only the implementation is to be monitored regularly and the ministry has always been trying to do it," Singh told a press conference here.
As part of the two-day review process of all the major programmes of the ministry, Singh has asked for an action taken report (ATR) from all the states on the implementation of the NREG Act.
"The CAG report had been sent to all the states and till date 17 states have sent in their ATRs. The rest would do so by January 31," the minister said.
Singh stressed on social audit, people participation, complete transparency and accountability to ensure proper implementation of the ministry's pet projects like Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana, Indira Awas Yojana, Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, apart from the NREG.
"It is due to our transparent methods that three FIRs have been filed in Madhubani (Bihar), Dhar (Madhya Pradesh), and Chamba (Himachal Pradesh) against those accused of corruption," the minister said.
"The very reason behind implementing the NREG Act was to ensure that 100 days of employment is given to at least one member of a family belonging to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category," the minister said.
Every unemployed person in a village, who registers under the scheme, would be given a job card and the government has to give him or her job within 15 days of registration, otherwise the government will have to pay fine.
Bureau Report
