Thuamul Rampur: A block-level public hearing on the social audit of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) was held at the Panchayat Samiti conference hall in Thuamul Rampur of Odisha’s Kalahandi district Monday, but the absence of senior officials and the poor turnout of actual workers have raised serious questions over the transparency and credibility of the exercise.
The hearing was supposed to be chaired by the Project Administrator of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA). However, no senior ITDA official attended the programme. More concerning, few genuine beneficiaries were present, while most attendees were identified as mates, contractors, and alleged middlemen.
The absence of the very workers whose interests the social audit seeks to protect has cast a shadow over the proceedings.
When questioned about the poor attendance of residents, the BDO attributed it to the ongoing festive season. However, he failed to provide a clear explanation for the absence of the ITDA official who was supposed to chair the hearing.
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Efforts to contact ITDA Project Administrator Pradyumna Kumar Das over the phone were unsuccessful as he did not answer the call.
The sparse participation of actual beneficiaries has triggered allegations that the public hearing failed to fulfil its intended purpose and raised concerns over whether the social audit was conducted in a genuinely transparent manner.
Residents have demanded a fresh hearing after adequate public awareness, with genuine MGNREGS workers and beneficiaries present, to ensure transparency and credibility in the social audit process.