By IANS,
New Delhi : “Lack of awareness, delayed payment of wages and non-maintenance of proper records” were affecting the implementation of the government’s flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), Rural Development Minister C.P. Joshi said Wednesday.
Joshi was speaking at an all-party meeting convened by the ministry of rural development held on the NREG scheme.
The minister said that “lack of awareness, inability of workers to submit written applications, delayed payment of wages, non-maintenance of proper records such as muster rolls, and quality of assets created under the scheme” were the problem areas of the NREGA.
Joshi said the priority of the ministry was on the convergence of NREGS with other schemes.
He also told the meeting that the government has placed adequate funds with the states to tide over the crisis caused by the drought in 250 districts of the country.
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad demanded setting up of vigilance and monitoring committees to ensure accountability.
Rajendra Agarwal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the scheme “was not reaching the poor to the extent required, and the government should go in for afforestation in a big way under the scheme in view of the global warming”.
Communist Party of India-Marxist representative Ram Chander Dome suggested that the government should make spot payments by banks in areas, which do not have bank branches.