Statesman News Service
MALDA, Feb. 6: Malda district has not been able to spend Rs 60 crore in this financial year out of the total available funds of Rs 70.89 crore for the 100-days job initiative under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA).
The district has received Rs 63.98 crore for this financial year including the state share. It also has Rs 6.81 crore in hand from 2007-08.
According to the district administrative officials, Malda has spent nearly Rs 10.85 crore in the period until January 2009.
The principal secretary of the P&RD, Dr MN Roy, will hold a video conference on 10 February with all district officials to review the state utilisation of funds for the period up until January.
The panchayat and rural development (P&RD) department has asked the district to prepare a present progress report on the NREGA and to gear up for the speedy implementation of several prepared schemes under the NREGA before March this year.
The commissioner of the NREGA, Mr MV Rao, had previously asked the Malda district administrative officials to send at least Rs one crore directly and in advance to each block development officer (BDO) to speed up the process of implementing the 100-days job initiative. However, the principal secretary of the P&;RD, Dr MN Roy, had blocked that command, and no such funds had been sent.
Sources said that not only in Malda, but in other districts, nearly 40 to 50 GPs were unable to implement the 100-days job initiative.
According to the Malda district nodal officer of NREGA, four GPs in Kaliachak I block, one GP in Kaliachak III, two GPs in English Bazaar and two in Ratua could not implement the 100-days job initiative.
GPs like Shovanagar, Pukuria, Paranpur, Araidanga, Jadupur I, Alipur-I, Silampur and others located near the block headquarters could not implement the 100-days job initiative during this financial year.
There is some good news, however. Following the direction of Dr M N Roy, the district nodal office, Malda will be implementing the 100-days job initiative in nine gram panchayats (GP) next week which were previously completely untouched by the act.
“We expect that work will begin in the nine GPs from next week,” confirmed Mr Ranjit Mandal, the district nodal officer. (END)
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