Centre asks states to ensure transparency of works under NREGA

New Delhi, Nov 8 (UNI) Minister for Rural Development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh today emphasised transparency and verification of all works under NREGA .

Reviewing the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in 200 notified districts all over the country, Dr Singh instructed states to ensure 100 per cent verification of muster rolls and certify their authenticity.

He directed that all states should endeavour to open accounts of wage earners in banks or post offices which ever is nearest so that full wages are paid to them and they also have the advantage of a savings account.

The Minister also stressed upon the need to spread awareness about NREGA to the remotest corners so that poor rural communities may avail of its benefit. Social Audit should be undertaken by all states and the provisions of the Right to information Act should be made known to all so that the public can scrutinize all records under NREGA, he stressed.

The meeting was attended by the Secretary, Rural Development, Joint Secretary (NREGA), Director (IEC), Ministry of Rural Development and media representatives from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Till date, 1,04,79,552 households have demanded employment under NREGA and 1,00,95,287 households have been provided employment.

3,91,651 works have been taken up so far. Of these 1,83,402 relate to water conservation 27,461 to drought proofing and plantation 6,694 to flood control and 92,904 to rural connectivity.

At the district level, training has been imparted to 84,822 PRI members, 30,859 administrative officials, 1803 technical functionaries and 11,476 members of village and monitoring committees for NREGA.

UNI AJ YA KP1941