Regional parties want scope of NREGA to be widened India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

The representatives of state level political parties today suggested that the Centre should expand the scope of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) by including new types of work under it. They asked Rural Development Minister C P Joshi to ensure more transparency and accountability in its implementation. The regional partied demanded the government to also ensure that the assets being generated through the schemes under NREGA are durable and sustainable. Addressing a meeting of representatives of state level political parties on how to evolve an effective mechanism for inclusive growth with the help of NREGA, Joshi emphasized the need for increased transparency and pubic accountability in effective implementation of NREGA. Joshi said the Government is committed to increase the scope of NREGA through convergence with other schemes and its implementation through Panchayats. In order to make the program more effective, responsive and transparent measures such as Social Auditing by involving NGOs, district-level Ombudsman to curb misappropriation and use of Bio-metric cards for wage payment are being initiated, he said. The Rural Development Minister said that the emphasis would be on the creation of durable assets. The State Level Political Parties who took part in the consultations were Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), The Telugu Desam (TDP), Shiv Sena (SS), Jharkhand Vikas Morcha {JVM}(Prajatantrik), All India Democratic Morcha (AIDF) and the Muslim League(ML). RLD leader Ajit Singh called upon the Government to enhance the Central Share of NREGA wage payment from Rs. 100 a day to Rs. 150- Rs.175 per day in view of lack of response from the needy and the poor.