Ranchi: Over six lakh people engaged in jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in Jharkhand have not got their daily wages since September 15, the backlog on Tuesday standing at an estimated Rs 155 crores, making it a dim Diwali for the state’s poorest.
The onus of this lies on Jharkhand as the Centre has withheld funds as the state government has not yet handed over its utilisation report for fiscal 2016-17.
Unlike earlier, the MGNREGS payment system is now centralised, which means the Centre directly releases funds to the state’s bank account, which goes to districts and blocks to finally reach a labourer’s bank account.
In this interlinked chain, a glitch at any point scuttles the whole process. Jharkhand MGNREGS commissioner’s office couldn’t send the Centre its funds utilisation reports as some districts didn’t provide audits on time, a highly placed source told this paper.
Asked why, state MGNREGS commissioner Siddharth Tripathi cited reasons including an official’s paternity leave that impeded a district from sending its report.
"Godda sent its audit report only last evening (Monday) while Jamtara, Giridih and Garhwa are in trailing list," he conceded. "In Garhwa, the official concerned went on paternity leave due to which the file got stuck. We are prodding other districts and doing daily follow-ups," he added.
A junior official explained the whole process. "Weekly muster rolls (wage lists) are prepared at panchayat levels for payments. Then, a fund transfer order (FTO) is prepared locally which has to be digitally signed by the panchayat sevak and mukhiya and sent to National Electronic Fund Management System handled by the Centre. Bank of Bikaner is the nodal bank which handles the country’s rural job funds. The Centre after verification gives the bank a nod for funds transfer," he said.
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