M’lore: DK lags behind in implementing Central schemes

Bellevision Media Network

• Mangalore taluk spent Rs. 1.22 crore of the available amount of Rs. 4 crore

 

Mangalore, 05 October 2011: The progress made in the Central government schemes is far too short of the target in Dakshina Kannada. This emerged at the District Vigilance and Monitoring Committee meeting, chaired by Member of Parliament Nalin Kumar Kateel here on Tuesday.

 

 

In Puttur, only Rs. 60.88 lakh had been spent so far out of total funds of Rs. 6.12 crore available for expenditure under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS).

 

This accounted for a mere 9.94 per cent of the allocation. The amount available for expenditure included Rs. 2.96 crore carried forward from last year.

 

Over 90 per cent of the funds were to be spent in the remaining six months of the financial year. In the case of other taluks, the expenditure was higher.

 

Mangalore taluk for example had spent Rs. 1.22 crore whereas the amount available for expenditure was over Rs. 4 crore.

 

The other taluks had huge amounts carried forward. In the case of Belthangady, it was Rs. 2.55 crore, Rs. 2.44 crore in Sullia, Rs. 1.72 crore in Bantwal, and Rs. 1 crore in Mangalore.

 

Mr. Kateel pointed out that in the first quarter of the year, the achievement of some schemes such as Swarna Jayanathi Rozgar Yojana was a mere 3 per cent and in MNREGS a mere 5 per cent. “You know how to circumvent rules when you want. You point out limitations only when we want you to achieve targets,” Mr. Kateel said.

 

Mr. Kateel and Deputy Secretary of the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat K. Shivaramegowda asked the officials to speed up the construction of Bharat Nirman Rajiv Gandhi Rural Sewa Kendras which were aimed at MNREGS offices at panchayat and block-levels and facilitate knowledge resource centre on the scheme.

 

Mr. Kateel wanted the officials to bring to his notice any problems they faced so that solutions could be found early. He expressed unhappiness about the progress in the implementation of Indira Awas Yojana.

 

When a member of the Vigilance and Monitoring Committee Yatiraj Shetty said that problems in obtaining small farmer certificates had been hampering the progress of the NMREGS work, it was decided to ensure that taluk-level officials send a booklet containing panchayat-wise land holding details to the officials concerned. An officer pointed out that this booklet would be useful only if it was sent by the end of this month as an action plan was to be prepared by November for the scheme.

 

He said a delegation of MPs from Karnataka had urged the Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh to include the State in the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana but the Minister had expressed his helplessness.

 

Karnataka had been dropped from this year saying the scheme was needed more for less developed States.

- The Hindu