Jobless youth too to be part of Capt’s GoG

Rajmeet Singh & Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 17

Besides ex-servicemen, unemployed youth will be part of the the Punjab Government’s ambitious Guardians of Governance (GoG) scheme, conceived to oversee the implementation of government programmes and to keep a watch on officials working at the grassroots.

“Where required, we will enlist young volunteers for GoG and integrate the scheme with the ‘Har Ghar Ek Naukri’, which provides for monthly allowance to the unemployed,” Lt Gen TS Shergill (retd), senior adviser to the Punjab CM, told The Tribune.

Close to 13,000 ex-servicemen would be enrolled for GoG — the aim being to have one veteran in each of the state’s 12,730 villages. Acting as a “watchdog”, he would send feedback up the hierarchical chain. Two to four veterans would work at the tehsil and district level.

There are about three lakh ex-servicemen in the state. The scheme will not only provide them additional income, but also enhance their social standing. “In case no ex-servicemen is found residing in a village, it could be clubbed with another village or an unemployed youth could be asked to take charge,” Shergill explained.

He said GoG would not “replace, hinder or replicate” the administrative arrangement or the grievance redressal system, but assist the administration in providing information on the situation at all levels of governance village panchayat upwards. This information would be factored in for the e-governance mechanism.

The GoG functionaries, who would be paid an honorarium, would be required to send their report fortnightly, also listing important happenings in their area. Information would flow to every level, be it the Sub-divisional Magistrate or Deputy Commissioner, for appropriate action.

The modalities of the scheme are expected to be finalised in a month. Being the Chief Minister’s per project, it is being monitored regularly by his office. A review meeting was held today. Shergill said various central and state government schemes that would come under the GoG ambit were being shortlisted and selected persons would be trained at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Public Administration, Chandigarh.