30 July :The Ministry of Rural Development has impressed upon the State Governments to ensure payment of wages under NREGA through bank/post office accounts. Accordingly, Ministry has written to the Chief Ministers of those States where opening of bank/post office account is lagging behind.Instructions issued in this connection are a sequel of the keenness of the ministry to ensure transparency and integrity in implementation of NREGA. During the review of the implementation process it was noticed that in 17 States even 50% of the job seeker house holds accounts have not been opened.
In the States of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, the post office/ bank accounts opened , are less than 50% of the households provided employment under NREGA. In fact, in the States of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Punjab, Tripura and Wes Bengal, less than 20% accounts have been opened.