PlanMin urges NITI Aayog to amend rules

Ravi S Singh

Tribune News Singh

New Delhi, July 26

The Union Ministry for Planning has urged NITI Aayog to amend the rules to enable states’ optimal utilisation of Central funds under MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act).

It has also pushed for a change in the present BPL (below poverty line) criteria, in the wake of the 2011-Socio Economic Census to help inclusion of more families in the category.

In a communiqué to the Aayog, the ministry said: “There is a need to examine the feasibility of state-wide allocation of funds under the scheme so that State Governments have flexibility in transferring the funds from one district to another district where demand of work is more.” The Centre sends the funds directly to districts. The subsequent tranches are released only after submission of report of utilisation of the funds by them.

The release of funds to all the districts in the state concerned is withheld till the last of them have submitted the report. Ministry sources said the anomaly arose as even within a state there was often a huge gap in the timings of the reports by the districts.

Consequently, not only the districts that are punctual in utilisation of funds suffer, but also the states concerned as the development projects bottomed on MNREGA are thwarted. The works under the Central scheme also differ in districts on account of their varying nature. Also, the gestation period between conceptualisaton of the projects and their completion vary. The sources said there had been a plethora of complaints from across the country about funds not being commensurate to the needs of the districts.

Even within a district, priority of work and focus area may vary affecting the requirement and utilization of the allocated funds.

Sources said the ministry’s initiative for the change in the funding paradigm was in the wake of feedback received by Minister Rao Inderjit Singh during a recent meeting of district-level monitoring committee under his chairmanship with regards Rewari and Mewat in his Gurgaon parliamentary constituency in Haryana.