Kohima, May 20 : The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has slammed the Nagaland government for allegedly misusing, mismanaging and misinterpreting the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the state.
A memorandum submitted to the governor of Nagaland, PB Acharya, on Friday had the Congress party alleging violation of the aims and objectives of the MGNREGA. The opposition has demanded an inquiry commission headed by a retired High Court judge within a month’s time from the date of submission of the memorandum. The commission must investigate and take action to implement the act effectively, the opposition stated.
The NPCC has also demanded that the 100-day wage be released to each entitled household as stated in memorandums to district deputy commissioners. The Congress stated that the representations to the DCs were ‘submitted since there had been a drought-like situation in the state due to lack of money circulation in the rural areas.’ However, the NPCC lamented, there has been no reply till date.
The NPCC alleged that the government had ‘misused, mismanaged and misinterpreted’ the MGNREGA by refusing to give job cards to employees; misinterpreted the meaning of convergence by diverting 50% of the MGNREGA money at ‘VIP discretion’; not implementing the 100-day employment and wage stipulation as guaranteed by the act. It also alleged that the government had pressurized VDB secretaries and village council chairmen to sign ‘blank cheques’ and had even prevented social audit.
‘Government quota’
Mentioning that the act and its guidelines were clear as to how the MGNREGA should be implemented, the NPCC reiterated that the Act was passed in 2005 by Prime Minister Dr. Mammohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, to offer livelihood security to the rural poor.
It provides for at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment every financial year, to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
In a brief ceremony before submitting the memorandum to the governor, NPCC’s president K. Therie alleged that the NPF government had ‘perfected corruption of the act and guidelines during the 10-years implementation of the MGNREGA ‘instead of perfecting the implementation of the act and guidelines.’
“During 2014-15 and 2015-16, the government claims to have achieved 9 days and 3 days respectively. Of which, 50% of the fund were taken by ministers, MLAs and department. The government officers also claimed that they are helpless as small government servants,” Therie said. He lamented that the government had ‘willfully violated the act and guidelines.’ The central government sanctioned the funds, but it didn’t reach job card holders, he said.
On reports that VDB secretaries had admitted to having signed ‘blank cheques’, the NPCC president regretted that they (VDB) were threatened by government officials at the expense of not releasing the village funds.
“This is the most shameless form of corruption in the history of Nagaland Statehood,” Therie said. He went to the extent of revealing that “many RD department officers have ventured into state election, spending the most in the history of state election. High corruption is amply clear by way of their spending.”
“It is wrong for VDB association(s) to interpret MGNREGA guidelines saying 100-day wages is not mandatory. 100 days employment is guaranteed under the act. MGNREGA is not just a guideline alone, but an act of the Parliament,” he reminded.
The NPCC has assured that the party will continue to press for fulfillment of the demand for investigation, and job cards and 100 days’ wages to the people. “Our demand is towards effective implementation of the scheme in totality according to the guidelines and act as is deemed fit and proper without any discrepancies,” he said.
The district Congress committees of Dimapur and Peren also issued separate statements on Friday demanding redress from the government and purging the NREGA implementation in Nagaland. The committees stated that the Nagaland government had misused and violated the Act and its rules by wav of refusing to give job cards; pressurizing VDB secretaries and VCCs to sign blank cheques; avoiding social audit; diverting 50% of the MGNREGA funs as “VIP discretion”; not implementing 100-day employment wage as guaranteed.
“We, therefore, demand that an impartial Inquiry Commission headed by a retired High Court Judge be constituted within a month’s time from the date of submission of this memorandum, to investigate and take necessary and appropriate action as may be deemed lit and proper to implement the Act effectively,” the Dimapur Peren committees added.