Meghalaya Minister informs that half of MGNREGS funds for materials have been released

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Aug 10: Minister in-charge Community and Rural Development Abu Taher Mondal has informed that the government has released 50 per cent of the fund for material components under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

“We have released 50 per cent of the fund one week back,” Mondal told reporters today. The fund is released for the works already executed. As far as wages is concerned, the same is released directly to the accounts of the individual job card holders.

He said that the delay in releasing the funds for material components is because of the clearance from the central government.

“The share between the Centre and State is 75 per cent by 25 per cent. So unless the Centre releases the fund, it is very difficult for us to just release 25 per cent and keep people happy,” he added.

Mondal also informed that the State government will also insist that the remaining 50 per cent of the funds pending for 2022 be released at the earliest.

“As I told you in the future we will pursue with the Central government that funds be released as early as possible so that the work is not hampered,” he said.

With regards to corruption cases in the implementation of the scheme, Mondal said, “If corruption charges are there it is very specific to the VECs, it is different in different VECs. I ask them when the complaint is lodged, to immediately look into the matter and take appropriate action.”

On the demand for convergence of MLA scheme with MGNREGS, the minister said the MLA scheme is very flexible and if MLA wants to put in convergence with other schemes, it can be worked out, there is no problem.

HYC demands release of MGNREGS fund component within six months

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Aug 10: The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) has asked the state government to come up with SOPs to ensure funds for material components for implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) within a period of six months.

A memorandum in this regard was submitted today to the C&RD Minister Abu Taher Mondal by a delegation of HYC led by its president Robertjune Kharjahrin and general secretary Roy Kupar Synrem for his necessary intervention.

“We would like to suggest that the State Government should come out with modalities or SOPs that the funds for material components must be released within a period of not more than 6 months and failure to do so the Department concern has to pay with interest to the VECs concerned,” the memorandum said.

The HYC also requested the minister to take steps to release all the pending funds to all the VECs who has not received the funds for more than six months.

This was after the organization had received several complaints from various VECs in Khasi-Jaintia Hills regions, that releasing of the funds related to the material components while implementing projects under the scheme takes a lot of times.

In some C&RD Blocks, there are VECs who have not received the funds even after a period of two years. This non-releasing of funds has badly affected the implementation of the Scheme which is one of the most successful schemes in the State.

Further, the HYC has also suggested for convergence of MLA scheme with MGNREGS in order to bring a meaningful development in the rural areas of the state.

“We suggest that the government should come up with a policy/legislation that not less than 50 per cent of the fund from MLA Scheme should be implemented by way of convergence with MGNREGS,” Kharjahrin said while asserting that “this will ensure of not just 100 days guaranteed work to job card holders but it will increase upto 110 days or more guaranteed workdays and also bring more meaningful development to the villages and town.”

He said that the council has also emphasized the need for setting up the Meghalaya Community Rural Development Services and Meghalaya Community Rural Engineering Services. In fact, the State Government had already approved a proposal for the same in 2018.

“However, till date we have not seen that the government has taken serious steps in framing and enacting the rules. Hence we urged upon you to take immediate steps to legislate the above mentioned rules and if the Government has already legislated, it is necessary that the government should implement the same at the earliest,” he added.

Kharjahrin said with this decision, the C&RD department will have their own service and staff cadre right from the level of gram sevak, junior engineers, assistant engineers and BDOs.

As on date, officers working at any level in the department be it junior engineers, assistant engineers and BDOs were taken by the department on deputation from other departments.

With these service rules the department would have engineers till the level of superintending engineer. The rules will also create more employment opportunities for the youths of the State and more over it will enable the department to implement the scheme quicker which in turn will benefit the citizen of the state, he added.

Meghalaya polls 2023: NPP leading in 23 seats

Shillong, March 2 (IANS) Conrad Sangma’s National People’s Party (NPP) is maintaining a lead in 23 seats as the counting of votes got underway on Thursday for the February 27 Meghalaya Assembly polls.

Compared to the two seats they won in the 2018 elections, the BJP is ahead in almost 10 seats, according to the early trends in counting.

While the Trinamool Congress is leading in 10 seats, the Congress party, which was the single largest party in Meghalaya in the last Assembly election, is trailing. The grand-old party is leading in only nine seats.

LIVE UPDATES: Meghalaya Assembly Election Results 2023

The other regional party, the United Democratic Party (UDP), has been projected to win six seats.

Notably, UDP was a part of the NPP-led government in Meghalaya for the last five years, although the party has not forged an alliance with the NPP and fought the election separately.