Jajpur: Implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in Jajpur district has completely gone haywire as only 184 families in the district are stated to have received full 100 days work by November 8, a report said.
The poverty alleviation scheme which is guaranteed under the MGNREGA Act has failed to come to the rescue of poor job card holders living below the poverty line.
The number of enlisted families in each block has failed to attain two-digit figures if we take a look at their numbers. Only have 184 families received 100 days work in the district with only four months left for the financial year to end.
The reason being attributed for low penetration of the scheme is that money has been siphoned off in various blocks by preparing fake muster rolls and by engagement of machines instead of men.
It was alleged that the block officials in connivance with the political representatives have managed to usurp funds available under the scheme.
This has happened due to lack of supervision by senior officials who have been tasked with successful implementation of the scheme. Reports said that Rs 2572.68 lakh has been allotted under the scheme while Rs 2586.5 lakh has been spent by November 8.
This leaves the district administration with an outstanding Rs 13.82 lakh. The district administration also owes an outstanding of Rs 52.09 lakh towards wages of labourers and construction materials.
According to reports, not a single family in Dharmasala block received 100 days works while only one family in Sukinda block received 100 days works.
Three families in Rasulpur block, six each in Danagadi and Bari blocks and eight families in Barchana block received 100 days works.
The district administration has only provided 21,106 days of works to the families. This has only brought to the fore the level of negligence of the district administration towards the poverty alleviation scheme in the district.
The district administration launched two projects under the scheme in the hilltop Nagada villages. The delay in implementing the scheme in Nagada which is a cluster of villages has kept the primitive Juanga tribals in hunger, it was alleged.
Reports available from the district rural development authority (DRDA) said that 6,46,395 persons out of 2.92.735 families have registered themselves under the scheme in 2019-20 fiscal.
This year, the district administration gave away job cards to 17,222 beneficiaries while cancelling the job cards of 3,862 beneficiaries. Among them 40,197 families had applied for works under the scheme while work was provided to 34,137 families. However, much to everyone’s disappointment only 184 families have been able to complete 100 days work in the scheme.
Among them were 74 families in Dasarathpur block, eight in Barchana, six in Bari, 57 in Binjharpur, six in Danagadi, , 0 in Dharmasala, 15 in Jajpur, 14 in Korei, 3 in Rasulpur and Sukinda blocks.
When contacted, Indramani Nayak, project director, DRDA said steps are being taken for proper implementation of the scheme in every rural pocket of the district. He, however, assured to take action against complaints of irregularities from any part of the district.
PNN
