The Hindu : Karnataka News : Ombudsmen to monitor works under job scheme in districts

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Tuesday, Jan 12, 2010
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Ombudsmen to monitor works under job scheme in districts

Special Correspondent

Complaints received from Gulbarga, Kolar and Tumkur districts on execution of works
‘No substance in allegations made by Kharge’

Bangalore: The State Government will appoint an ombudsman in each district to monitor works taken up under the Centrally-sponsored Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGREGA).

Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Jagadish Shettar told presspersons here on Monday that the job scheme was being successfully implemented across the State and Rs. 1,524.93 crore had been spent so far in the current fiscal year as against Rs. 357.87 crore in 2008-09.

A few complaints had been received from Gulbarga, Kolar and Tumkur districts on works executed being inferior and on the issue of fake job cards to some families. To address such complaints, a decision had been taken to appoint ombudsmen in all districts.

However, the Minister said there was no substance in the allegations made by Union Minister for Labour and Employment M. Mallikarjun Kharge that the Government had not been utilising the scheme for providing jobs to the poor in villages.

The department had set a target to spend Rs. 2,846 crore in 2009-10. The scheme had provided 11.71 crore mandays work so far in the current year as against 2.77 crore mandays in the last financial year. The department required Rs. 300 to Rs. 400 crore a month to implement the scheme in all districts. The daily wages had been increased from Rs. 82 to Rs. 100 from April, 2009, he added.

Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking release of the balance Rs. 1,200 crore to the State as per the approved budget.

He had also written to the Union Minister for Rural Development C.P. Joshi saying the department had incurred expenditure of Rs. 249 crore in October and Rs. 292 crore in November.

“The expenditure during the remaining months is likely to be Rs. 350 to Rs. 400 crore per month, at the present revised wages,” Mr. Shettar said.

The Minister said he would meet Dr. Singh and Mr. Joshi on January 13 in New Delhi.

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