E-Paper
NREGS a non-starter in Gorkahpur
BLAMEGAME has begun between officials and leaders of various political parties over slow pace of implementation of much hyped National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in the district. The scheme was launched on February 2 in 22 districts of the State including Gorakhpur. However, after 10 months of its inception here, only 34 labourers could get 100 days of work. It is to be noted that the district administration had provided job cards to 1056337 registered labourers and 46059 labours had applied for job.
BLAMEGAME has begun between officials and leaders of various political parties over slow pace of implementation of much hyped National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in the district. The scheme was launched on February 2 in 22 districts of the State including Gorakhpur. However, after 10 months of its inception here, only 34 labourers could get 100 days of work. It is to be noted that the district administration had provided job cards to 1056337 registered labourers and 46059 labours had applied for job.
The scheme was started by the Union government with the objective to provide 100 days of work in the year to landless labourers.
Chief development officer Sandhya Tiwari said labourers were not responding positively to this scheme and their cool response was responsible for its slow pace of implementation. She said labourers were engaged in cultivation and they would apply for job when they were free.
Contrary to it, State president of All India Field Mazdoor Sabha Rajesh Sahni blamed the administration for hatching a conspiracy to dilute the significance of the scheme. He alleged that the report submitted by the officials to the Joint Parliamentary Committee that only one per cent job cards owners had applied for job, was baseless. He said in fact officials were not accepting job applications.
Hitting hard at the alleged apathetic attitude of the officials in implementation of the scheme, he said officials were creating confusion that rural people were not interested in work and claimed that Labour Sabha had launched a campaign to register landless labourers and get job cards issued to them.
He said in the second phase Mazdoor Sabha had decided to launch dharna and demonstration at the block development office in every block of the district.
