NREGS issue: Parliament Committee unhappy

Shared by Sri Bikram Kumar Tayal

Expressbuzz, April 15, 2012
BHUBANESWAER: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development has expressed displeasure over the delay in completion of works under the MGNREGS.

Analysis of district-wise data revealed that only 10 per cent of the total projects, taken up under MGNREGS in the State, was completed during 2011-12 financial year as against 25.37 per cent in the 2010-11.

“Benefits of the assets, proposed to be created (under the wage employment scheme), are not derived as work remained incomplete,” the Ministry of Rural Development said in a recent communique to the State Government.

The coastal district of Kendrapara, having completed 0.61 per cent of the works taken up, tops the low-work completion district list. While the district took up 1,617 projects, it could complete only 10 works.

Sonepur district came second with completion of 37 out of 2,403 projects started in the last financial year. Percentage wise the completion rate is 1.54. Khurda, Angul, Sambalpur, Kalahandi and Koraput with a completion rate of 1.66, 2.62, 2.43, 3.97 per cent respectively are the other poor-performing districts.

The other poor performing districts are Bargarh, Bhadrak, Balangir, Boudh, Deogarh, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Kandhamal, Malkangiri, Nayagarh, Puri and Sundargarh.

Nineteen districts of the State have completed less than 10 per cent of the works started in 2011-12.

Jagatsinghpur district has performed better with completion of nearly 35 per cent of the projects followed by Jajpur with 31.65 per cent and Nuapada with 31.28 per cent.

The State had started works on 1,08,012 projects in 2011-12 and completed 10,883 projects by the end of the financial year. The rate of completion of works was 58.62 per cent in 2008-09 and 42.52 per cent in 2009-10.

The Ministry of Rural Deployment has also brought it to the notice of the State Government that a number of works, started prior to the last financial year, has also remained incomplete. The Ministry has also detected that the work completion rate, reported in the management information system (MIS), is ‘very’ less compared to the monthly progress report submitted by the Government.

The Panchayati Raj Department has instructed all the district collectors and project directors of the district rural development agencies to review the status of all the incomplete works and take initiative to complete the works before the closure of the MGNREGS account for the last financial year.