2 Feb : Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has urged the states lagging behind in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA) to follow states successfully implementing the scheme.
Addressing NREGA conference in New Delhi on the completion of four years of the scheme, Dr Singh assured that delivery mechanisms will be improved.
Dr Singh said though several countries had faced very difficult economic situation last year coupled with scanty rainfall in the country, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) helped in providing jobs to the rural poor and reduced the impact of global meltdown and drought situation on the rural poor.
“Several Chief Ministers said that National Rural Employment Programme helped our poor people in rural areas to a great extent in facing the problems,” he said at the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Sammelan in New Delhi, marking four years of the scheme which provided employment to more than four crore households in the current financial year.
The Prime Minister said there has been several achivements in the implementation of the programme but noted there was a problem in payment of wages to workers.
He said the government was trying to improve the payment of wages through banks and post offices.
Gandhi said the programme was doing well but there were still problems in its implementation which needed to be sorted out.Congress President Sonia Gandhi listed problems like delayed payment and unemployment allowance provisions not being followed.
Gandhi said the programme was doing well but there were still problems in its implementation which needed to be sorted out.
The Centre has released over Rs 75,000 crore in the past four years to state governments for the programme, under which at least 100 days employment is guaranteed to every rural household.
Though there were several achievements in the implementation of the programme in past four years, still, there were still some lapses in it, Dr Singh said, asking those states lagging behind to study its successful implementation in other states.
The Prime Minister, who released the “Report to People on Mahatma Gandhi NREGA”, said the Centre would consider improving the delivery mechanism.
Claiming credit for the programme launched during the UPA-I, Gandhi said this programme was formulated on the basis of Congress party’s principle and included in its election manifesto in 2004.
“We know it was a challenge to implement. But we take proud in facing such a challenge and fulfilling the promise”, she said.
She said all political parties appreciated NREGA and supported its implementation, which now covers all districts of the country.
Observing that the programme empowered women and stopped migration of poor from rural areas, she said there were still some issues which needed to be addressed.
Gandhi also released a booklet titled “Rozgar Sutra” highlighting provisions, rights and entitlements under the Act.