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Rural job scheme: tribal woman shows the way

BHUBANESWAR: At a time when implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) is facing various operational hurdles as well as allegations of large-scale corruption, communities demanded that funds should be given to them for appropriate utilisation.

When NREGS, the flagship employment generation programme of UPA Government, was critically reviewed at a workshop in presence of Union Minister of State for Rural Development Chadra Sekhar Sahu here on Thursday, Laxmi Bhuyan, a tribal woman from Gajapati district took everybody by surprise with her conviction of implementing the scheme by the community.

Her confidence stemmed from successful execution of developmental works by her community under Orissa Tribals Empowerment Livelihoods Programme (OTELP). “Our Village Development Committee has been entrusted with the task of spending Rs. 40 lakhs in four years. We have managed our natural resources well by raising check dams and creating jobs in our area,” Ms. Bhuyan said.

The tribal woman leader suggested that funds be provided directly to the unregistered SHGs and federations for implementation of NREGS works. If community was taken into confidence, the administration could do away with allegations of forgeries in job cards and delay in payment and could check migration, she said.

OTELP is being implemented in four districts on pilot basis. Many experts were of the view that empowerment programmes such as OTELP should be made platform for further implementation of NREGS.

At the State-level workshop organised by Society for the Welfare of Weaker sections, an NGO, activists pointed out flaws with the scheme’s implementation. “It is marred by defective job cards, inhospitable working atmosphere, non-availability of forms in gram panchayats, no grievance redressal mechanism at block level, faulty planning and overall corruption allegations,” activists charged.

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