BHUBANESWAR: The Centre is all set to launch a revamped version of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the flagship rural wage employment programme, on November 14.A revamp of the scheme became necessary following administrative problems faced by the Centre and the states in the implementation of the scheme. The version-2 of MGNREGS was mooted in 2009 by the then Union Minister for Rural Development CP Joshi following suggestion from several quarters for a policy change of the programme.After Jairam Ramesh became Minister for Rural Development, he crafted a new policy with assistance from Planning Commission member Mihir Shah which aimed at strengthening the administrative structure for effective implementation of the rural job scheme. The modified scheme will have a list of projects prepared by a local-level committee. The panel will seek help from experts. Currently, the MGNREGS is mostly limited to earth work. With an allocation of ` 40,000 crore in the current year’s budget, the scheme is the Centre’s most expensive social sector programme. However, large-scale irregularities in the implementation of the scheme have been noticed in many states, including Odisha which is under CBI scanner. The Centre has turned the heat against the Uttar Pradesh Government for alleged financial irregularities in the implementation of the scheme. Similar is the case with BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh.Recent studies have shown that the MGNREGA is fraught with inefficiencies, corruption and lack of accountability, prompting experts to demand immediate action by the Government to fine-tune the Act. Failing this, the rural employment scheme could end up like other government initiatives.
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