Tamkot panchayat to be honoured

Tamkot (Mansa), January 23

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The panchayat of Tamkot village, Mansa, will be honoured for the best performance in implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) scheme by the Prime Minister on February 2.

A single panchayat of the CPI (ML) in Punjab, the Tamkot panchayat has a total of 10 members, including sarpanch Ranjit Singh.

First in the district to construct the electric crematorium, the village panchayat had got it constructed best with the help of MGNREGA workers.

The panchayat made an attempt to save small and marginal farmers by bringing them into the MGNREGA fold. It registered 621 villagers as labourers, including 80 small and marginal farmers, in this small village with a population of 3,100.

The Tamkot panchayat that had utilised best its meagre grant of Rs 10 lakh it got in 2013-14, excluding labour wages, could get only 5 per cent of grant for development works it demanded, whereas for 2014-15 it had made a proposal of around Rs 2 crore, but has got nothing yet.

Village sarpanch Ranjit Singh claimed all dues of labourers had been cleared. However, 40 per cent of total labour wages is given as grant to be used for construction material. He said fearing closure of the scheme, the panchayat did not involve more villagers under the scheme to further avoid exploitation of labourers. — TNS