'The BJP has started a war-like situation against farmers and the Jat community.'
Business establishments, shops, small factories, transport services and even central government programmes like National Rural Employment Guarantee Act are not functioning due to the strife between the Maoists and security forces. Tribals are unable to enter forests to collect kendu leaves which they sell for a living for fear of being rounded up by security forces.
The government's bill for funding the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) has risen steeply, due to its decision to revise wage rates under these projects and to link these to the inflation rate.
The forthcoming Budget is likely to make a provision of Rs 64,000 crore (Rs 640 billion) for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in 2011-12, against Rs 40,100 crore (Rs 401 billion) in the current fiscal.
The Union government is on a social sector roll. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had indicated that the United Progressive Alliance government was going to make the social sector the centrepiece of the upcoming Budget. According to Dilip Ghosh, special secretary, Panchayat Raj department of West Bengal, the Centre has indicated that the demand for grants for these projects should be hiked at least 50 per cent more than the present allocation.
The scheme would check fake payments made under National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and ensure that the officials don't fudge the workers' wages, state rural development department sources said. Launched from Dharhar village of Paliganj area in Naxalite-hit Jehanabad district recently, the 'E-Shakti' scheme promises to cover each worker with smart cards carrying details about duration of work, the wage earned, photograph and registration number of the beneficiary.
With UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi pushing for increased wages for labourers, the government on Thursday came out with a new structure for payment of wages under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) that will be linked to inflation.
The FMCG sector's demand growth will be powered by effective reduction in the personal taxes and increased allocation under NREGA, though hike in excise duty lead inflation is a cause for concern
States may set it higher, not lower; planned link to cost of living.
Gandhi said he would bring in experts from Andhra Pradesh to suggest ways and means for proper implementation of NREGS.
"It is not true that there is 30-40 per cent siphoning," rural development minister C P Joshi told the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour.
The Democratic Front, in its manifesto, also sought to tap rural voters by promising at least 200 days of job under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
Around 100 NREGA workers, engaged in digging a stretch of land for the past 13 days were paid a paltry Re 1 per day as wages with the district administration justifying the payment saying it was a small area collectively dug by the workers
"The Narendra Modi government has not properly utilised funds for the construction of roads under the Gramya Sadak Yojna and the National Employment Guarantee Scheme," Mukherjee said. Speaking to reporters, Mukherjee said that though the Centre had allocated funds to Gujarat for the construction of 1,100 kms of roads under the Yojana, only 179 km roads had been laid.
The Unique Identification Number scheme, which is expected to roll out the first number in 12-18 months, will be first conferred on the beneficiaries of the the centre's flagship programme under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
Ministry of rural development has asked chief secretaries of the states to inform about the remedial measures taken by them to ensure timely payment of wages to NREGA workers, an official said.
The prime minister also said the government proposes to set up an ombudsman in each district for effective grievance redressal under NREGA.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has called for speedy implementation of various welfare schemes, which target the weaker sections of society.
'The way he had his finger on the pulse of individuals was great. Besides, the state had a buoyant economy during his tenure. The rain gods also stood by him, unlike in the case of his predecessor.'
"If implemented 'honestly and sincerely', the programme would increase the rural income and 'certainly we will be able to soften very considerably the harsh edges of extreme poverty," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.
The banks are not ready to open accounts of the beneficiaries through the IT-enabled financial inclusion programme, which is running on a pilot basis in various districts of the state. "The panchayat staff do not co-operate with our business correspondents. They do not come forward to endorse the identity of the beneficiaries. How can we open accounts," asked an official from State Bank of Indore.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for an urgent need to revamp the entire agriculture extension system in the country through community and private sector participation.
Andhra Pradesh Rural Development Minister V Vasant Kumar on Tuesday said the daily wages paid to workers under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in the state will be enhanced from May 1.
The UPA government's flagship programme under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act that proved to be a vote churner for the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections is being expanded to cover the rural artisans like masons and carpenters. So far only manual work was available to those seeking employment under the Act.
Grain stocks in the current procurement season will be enough to feed all those who go hungry, and the FCI only needs to invest in proper storage facilities.
Nearly 40 per cent of IITians sitting for placements in 2024 are yet to receive job offers, showing a doubling of the 'unplaced' in the last three years from 19 per cent in 2021-2022 to 38 per cent in 2023-2024.
In its report to the rural development ministry, the NLM has also noted that 60 per cent of the districts have 'unsatisfactory or irrelevant' choice of works under the Act and its technical supervision was also absent.
According to the announcement made by chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy yesterday the new wages would be paid to workers under NREGP from May 21 onwards. Reviewing the progress of NREGP works, the chief minister directed district collectors to take up and complete all works under the programme before the onset of monsoons so that funds available could be fully utilised.
This meant targets set for primary school admissions, assured income for every family and roads, water, housing and electricity. And yearly spending of over Rs 1,20,000 crore (Rs 1,200 billion), up from Rs 36,000 crore (Rs 360 billion) in the last year of the National Democratic Alliance government.
It is crucial to electoral democracy that the exercise of freedom to vote is not subject to undue influence, the Supreme Court said on Thursday while striking down as unconstitutional the electoral bonds scheme for political funding.
The MGNREGS started in 24 districts of the state from February 2, 2006 while it is in operation in the rest six districts from April 1, 2008.
A labour ministry note sent to the rural development ministry (MoRD) says the minimum wage notified in each state - often higher than the NREGA set one - has to be paid. But MoRD has written to the PMO that the NREGA enactment has clauses that exempt it from all other laws, including the Minimum Wages Act. Hence, MoRD is not legally obliged to pay at any other rate.
Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said the government has written letters to heads of IITs and IIMs and vice chancellors of universities seeking their cooperation and involvement in the scheme. He said the government has asked officials of these reputed institutes to visit villages for conducting technical and impact assessment studies besides lending their help in implementing the programme.
The signal is that it is willing, but it is a bit open if it will be able to.
The NFC-phone-cum-scanner is simpler since fingerprints are used to verify identity. For a typical village, the cost would drop from Rs 1.5-1.7 lakh (Rs 1,50,000-Rs 1,70,000) to Rs 20,000. What of the transaction costs? Right now, the government gives banks 2 per cent of the amounts being transferred as commission, and the bank shares this with its business correspondents.
He pointed out that wages under the NREGA have been increased from Rs 61 to Rs 100 which would lead to earnings of Rs 10,000 annually 'irrespective of qualification'. Mukherjee, who is the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee chief urged party workers to pinpoint failures in implementation of the scheme at the block and panchayat levels.
Since there is no constraint on the availability of central funds for these programmes -- thanks to additional grants, over and above liberal allocations at the start -- tardy implementation by states seems wholly to blame for the lack of progress.
Using banks to make NREGA payments has only added to corruption, says Anirban Kar.
Targeting Modi over inflation, Priyanka called him a "mehengai" man.
