Opposition in Orissa urges Aiyar to probe corruption in NREGS

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

Bhubaneswar, June 15 (UNI) Four Opposition parties in Orissa today appealed to Union Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar to order a probe into the allegations of corruption and irregularities in the implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in the state.

Leaders of Orissa Gana Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and Janata Dal(S), who called on the visiting Minister at the Raj Bhawan here, said the corruption in the NREGS be investigated by invoking clause 27 of the NREG Act so that necessary corrective measures could be taken to achieve the objective of the scheme.

OGP president Bijaya Mohapatra, CPI(M) secretary Janardan Pati, CPI assistant secretary Pravat Mishra and Janata Dal(S) secretary Krushna Chandra Patra told the Minister the NREGS has become a total mess in Orissa and frustrated the very objective of providing minimum guarantee of work and wages to the rural working population.

Opposition leaders said though the Act provided that the state government must constitute a state council to monitor the scheme, no such council has so far been formed.

In a memorandum to Mr Aiyar, they also regretted that the state government had not made any budgetary provision in 2006-2007 to meet the expense thereby shattering the objective of the Act.

''Job cards to the beneficiaries under the scheme are yet to be provided to the workers and that the corrupt officials have been engaged in swindling the fund,'' the Opposition leaders added.

They demanded that those registered with the scheme must be provided with job cards without any delay and the Panchayati Raj institutions should take care that the left out families in the villages be registered.

The memorandum said while the norm for engaging 30 per cent women has not been followed, the contractors and the corrupt officials had looted the fund meant for providing work to the local people.

Opposition leaders alleged that the government has not made any budgetary provision to provide matching grant although it was duty bound to provide at least 25 per cent of the material component in the scheme.

UNI DP PC HS VV1528

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