Two Telugu States bag top awards for effective implementation
- Chandurthi sarpanch in Karimnagar district gets award for effectively monitoring the programme
- Nizamabad district is selected for the top award for effective implementation of the programme
Telangana State along with AP bagged seven of the top national awards in the implementation of MGNREGA works for the year 2015-17. While the two Telugu States bagged the award for social auditing and transparency, Telangana State also saw four more awards going its way.
While, Nizamabad district bagged the top award for effective implementation of the programme, Chandurthi (Karimnagar district) sarpanch bagged the individual award for effective monitoring the programme. Likewise, Bijjur Post Office in Adilabad district bagged the Post Office award for clearing all payments within three days throughout.
Telangana State also secured one more award for employing 85 per cent of the total physically challenged persons. YSR Kadapa district bagged the best district award in Andhra Pradesh for effective implementation of the programme in drought-affected areas. The awards were presented to the officials and individuals at a function held here on Tuesday to mark completion of 10 years of the programme in the country.
Meanwhile, the Union Rural Development Minister, Birendra Singh, announced here on Tuesday that from April 1 this year, all payments under MGNREGA would be made through direct cash transfers to the beneficiaries account. Currently, 94 per cent of the beneficiaries were being covered under the scheme.
Addressing the MGNREGA Sammelan to mark completion of 10 years of the scheme in the country, the Minister said that 2015-16 had seen a revival of the MGNREGA programme due to a slew of reforms undertaken by the Ministry of Rural Development. The person-day generation was the highest in the second quarter (45.88crore) and in the third quarter (46.10 crore) than it has been in the last five years.
Birendra Singh said more than 64% of total expenditure was on agriculture and allied activities and 57 per cent of all workers were women, well above the statutory requirement of 33 per cent, the highest in three years.
The Minister said, among the reforms responsible for revival of MGNREGA were the timely release of funds to states to provide work on demand, an electronic fund management system, consistent coordination between banks and post offices besides monitoring of dues clearances.
The Ministry had also reacted swiftly to the distress situation of droughts in nine states by declaring an additional 50 days of employment in the drought affected areas, he said.
He said, the focus in the upcoming years would be on simplification and strengthening of procedures and a Master Circular was being issued on Tuesday which consolidates all key instructions from the Central government on the implementation of the Act.
He said the Ministry would also aim to train and place 10,000 barefoot technicians from worker households. The Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the government was committed to strengthening the programme and had allocated Rs 37,000 crore this fiscal, which was the highest ever budgetary support to the scheme.
The government would boost public spending in other rural sectors also like road, electrification, health, education and irrigation to spur the growth as private sector was not contributing to it as desired.
Source : The Hans India , 3rd Feb 2016
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