THOROUGH CHECK: Members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee discussing a point with zilla panchayat engineers in Bidar on Tuesday.

Bidar: A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) team visited Bidar to inspect the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) on Tuesday.

The JPC is vested with the responsibility of providing feedback to Parliament on the progress of the scheme. JPC convener Hannan Mollah told presspersons that the members were very happy at the way the scheme was being implemented in various States. Mr. Mollah observed that Karnataka had one of the lowest farm labour wage rates in the country. The Union Government had fixed Rs. 60 as the minimum wage.

Alternate convener Sita Ram Singh said Karnataka had emerged a model to other States in implementing the NREGS. Mr. Singh was all praise for computerisation of gram panchayats and use of computers in the implementation of the scheme.

He said this would ensure transparency in governance and make the system more efficient.Member D.C. Shrikanthappa said the scheme was a ray of hope for the poor in the most backward districts in the country. The team visited the plantation in the forest nursery in Dev Dev Vana, inspected Gokatta construction in Chowkhandi and Mirzapur and Basanthpur (K) and road work under the Prime Minister's Gram Swarozgar Yojana in Gumma village.

Member Chandan Mitra was impressed with the "Bidar model" multi-arch buttress check-dams constructed in Gumma village. Other members H.D. Jayantilal Bharot, Dawa Narbulla and Balihari; officials Sudesh Luthra, G.C. Prasad, Banani Sarkar and Manjula; National Institute of Rural Development scientist S.K. Singh; and principal secretary, Rural Development, M.R. Shrinivas Murthy were present.

Protest rally

Meanwhile, members of the Communist Party of India (CPI) staged a protest rally seeking proper implementation of the NREGS, in Bidar on Tuesday. They walked to Deputy Commissioner's office and submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh through the office.

Alleging irregularities in the implementation of the scheme, they said gram panchayats were using machines for most of the works.

Some officials, in collusion with people's representatives, had prepared bogus muster rolls of labourers. They had also misappropriated funds, they said.

They alleged that the JPC members were taken on a guided tour by the officials and were shown only two to three places where good work was done.

The JPC was not exposed to the truth, they said.

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