With barely two days left for the state to go for the first phase of assembly polls, a study conducted by NEST, found that out of 3,749,672 household provided with job cards under MGNREGA, a staggering 24,36,848 households did not get a single-day job under the scheme in 2010-11.
Only 16,473 households got 100 days employment in the year which amounts to 0.56 per cent of the total job card holders. Also, 6,11,032 households got less than 15 days employment which is 21 per cent of the total job cards holders in the year.
Moreover, 28,635 persons, who were registered under the MGNREGA, were not provided with job cards, while 29,331 persons were not provided with "unemployment" allowances.
NEST’s findings could be disheartening for the Congress at a time when it is trying hard to woo voters using rural development plank.
The most poor implementation of MGNREGA has been recorded in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC). Ironically, the panchayat and rural development minister, Chandan Brahma hails from BTC area.
In BTC’s Baksa district 9,226 registered families were not given job cards. Baksa also topped among other districts in not providing employment for 5,186 days."Our findings have shown that implementation of MGNREGA was dismal in 2010-11. Failure in proper implementation of MGNREGA means a gross failure in poverty alleviation among rural population," said NEST executive director, Tasaduk Ariful Hussain.
Social activists said even opposition political parties could not be spared from the failure in implementation of MGNREGA. They said oppositions was to be blamed for not properly voicing the necessity of implementing the act for poverty alleviation.