HoneY
MaaPeya Da LaaDLa
Chandigarh April 1:
Wages paid under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme will henceforth not be paid in cash. The disbursement of wages on valid job cards will be through post offices and rural banks in the state.
A communiqué in this regard was sent today to all district heads. Nearly one lakh households have job cards in Punjab that were issued during the last financial year. The shift, triggered in wake of similar directions from the Union government, is an attempt to rule out possibility of corruption in the disbursement process. The task of distributing wages was so far being carried out by sarpanches and panchayat secretaries, a practice that will now end.
For them, the process was more an attempt to gain mileage for themselves and for the party they belong. From tomorrow, the scheme will be implemented in all Punjab districts. However, Punjab, which till recently performed dismally under the scheme, will now find it increasingly more tedious to woo labourers to work under the scheme, given the hike in daily wage announced by neighboring Haryana.
Punjab pays a daily wage of Rs 103, which is nearly 33 per cent less than what’s being offered by the neighbouring Congress-led Haryana. A senior official talking to The Indian Express said, “We have moved the case for hike in daily wage in Punjab. Already, there are few takers under the scheme. Lower wages could act as a dampener.” Even as the scheme stretches its bounds in all districts in the state from April 1, officials say the response to the scheme is likely to be at an all-time low during the coming month, given that the procurement season of wheat has begun.
Punjab, till the year ending December 31, 2007, spent just 27 per cent of the total funds it got under the scheme, but has been quick to make amends. As per the latest figures, Punjab has been able to spend nearly 47 per cent of the total aid it received from the Centre. In the past one year, Punjab has been able to provide an average 34 man days of work to 43,000 people in rural Punjab.
The scheme was a slow starter in Punjab. In the first six-seven months, since April 1, 2007, when the scheme was first introduced in three districts of the state, not one person benefited from the scheme. Officials say the funds by the Centre for the scheme are driven by demand. However, the limiting part is that there are not many takers for the scheme, possibly on account of inadequate awareness, the nature of job that people are asked to do and the semi-urban nature of some of the districts, like Jalandhar.
Wages paid under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme will henceforth not be paid in cash. The disbursement of wages on valid job cards will be through post offices and rural banks in the state.
A communiqué in this regard was sent today to all district heads. Nearly one lakh households have job cards in Punjab that were issued during the last financial year. The shift, triggered in wake of similar directions from the Union government, is an attempt to rule out possibility of corruption in the disbursement process. The task of distributing wages was so far being carried out by sarpanches and panchayat secretaries, a practice that will now end.
For them, the process was more an attempt to gain mileage for themselves and for the party they belong. From tomorrow, the scheme will be implemented in all Punjab districts. However, Punjab, which till recently performed dismally under the scheme, will now find it increasingly more tedious to woo labourers to work under the scheme, given the hike in daily wage announced by neighboring Haryana.
Punjab pays a daily wage of Rs 103, which is nearly 33 per cent less than what’s being offered by the neighbouring Congress-led Haryana. A senior official talking to The Indian Express said, “We have moved the case for hike in daily wage in Punjab. Already, there are few takers under the scheme. Lower wages could act as a dampener.” Even as the scheme stretches its bounds in all districts in the state from April 1, officials say the response to the scheme is likely to be at an all-time low during the coming month, given that the procurement season of wheat has begun.
Punjab, till the year ending December 31, 2007, spent just 27 per cent of the total funds it got under the scheme, but has been quick to make amends. As per the latest figures, Punjab has been able to spend nearly 47 per cent of the total aid it received from the Centre. In the past one year, Punjab has been able to provide an average 34 man days of work to 43,000 people in rural Punjab.
The scheme was a slow starter in Punjab. In the first six-seven months, since April 1, 2007, when the scheme was first introduced in three districts of the state, not one person benefited from the scheme. Officials say the funds by the Centre for the scheme are driven by demand. However, the limiting part is that there are not many takers for the scheme, possibly on account of inadequate awareness, the nature of job that people are asked to do and the semi-urban nature of some of the districts, like Jalandhar.
