Round The States

New Delhi, 24 September 2009

Employment Guarantee

NREGA RUNS INTO TROUBLE

By Insaf

The Centre has yet another bone to pick with the States. Last week it was unhappy over the failure of the State Governments to do enough to beef up internal security. This week it is the failure of most State Governments to efficiently implement the UPA Government’s flagship programme: National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme NREGS. Alarming reports continue to pour into New Delhi of prolonged delays in NREGA wage payments from all over the country. Shockingly, delay of several months has become a norm in entire districts and States. Worse, in many places the labourers have even lost hope of being paid at all, reducing them to the level of slave labour. Under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, workers must be paid within 15 days. Failing that, they are entitled to compensation under the Payment of Wages Act --- upto Rs. 3,000 per aggrieved worker. Except in some isolated cases, no such compensation has been paid. Delays in wage payments are reportedly said to be partly responsible for hunger deaths in some drought-affected States.

The States have, no doubt, argued that the main reason for the delays is the inability of the banks and post offices to handle mass payments of NREGA wages. But that is only a part of the truth, according to dedicated experts. The current jam is said to be the Centre’s own doing, its hasty, top-down switch to bank payments imposed about a year ago. But the bigger problem is the attitude of the State employees towards implementing NREGA. With bank payments making it much harder to embezzle NREGA funds, explained an expert, the whole programme is now seen by these Government functionaries as a headache: the work load remains the same and even grow but the inducements --- the money they made on the sidelines --- have disappeared. All in all, the delays in NREGA wage payments are not just operational. (Not a little havoc is caused, for instance, by the tyrannical behavior of the engineering staff in-charge of measurements of work executed). The hurdles reflect a deliberate attack on the scheme. Time for both the Centre and the States to sit up and act.

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States Slow On Minority Plans

Incredibly enough, a majority of States have paid little heed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s high-priority Rs 2500 crore scheme for the minorities. Statistics reveal that the scheme envisaging multi-sectoral development programmes in minority-concentrated districts in 20 States hasn’t taken off in 16. This, when the State only has to recommend specific development projects for the districts identified and get requisite funds. Of these, while Delhi, J&K, Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Sikkim have not even submitted plans, Manipur (six districts), Bihar (seven districts) and Rajasthan (six districts) are terribly slow in utilising the funds sanctioned. Orissa and Maharashtra are yet to seek funds, whereas Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Karnataka, which have got the money, are yet to initiate the programmes. However, there is some consolation for the Minorities Ministry-- the scheme is progressing satisfactorily in Haryana, West Bengal’s 10 of 12 districts, Uttar Pradesh’s 12 of 21 districts and Assam’s 11 of 13 districts. 

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Gujarat Response To Terrorism

Gujarat’s Narendra Modi has smartly reacted to the Centre’s criticism of the States for not doing enough to tackle the country’s internal security. It is all set to be one-up on the other States by constituting 111 anti-terror Quick Response Teams (QRTs), all armed with hi-tech weapons and armored vehicles, and is awaiting the Centre’s approval. The QRTs, which will comprise highly-trained men from the Anti-Terrorist Assault Squads (ATAS) are to be located near ‘sensitive locations and likely terrorist targets’ across the State. The Special Operation Group of the State’s Anti-Terrorist Squad will oversee the teams’ coordination and functioning.  Each QRT will comprise six commandos who will be equipped with modern weaponry, including submachine guns, semi-automatic pistols and assault rifles, and will be on call 24 hours. Tactical features such as full coverage body armour, gas masks, fire retardant gear, gloves etc too will be provided. The State hopes to get the teams in place by end of this financial year and give its people a “modern age” police teams.

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Surprise Setback For Nitish

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has yet to recover from a rude shock he received last week. In the byelections to 18 Assembly seats held in the State, his Janata Dal (U) won only four seats and another two by partner BJP. It lost seven seats. Arch rivals—RJD’s Lalu Prasad and LJP’s Ram Vilas Paswan’s alliance made a surprise comeback after their poor performance in the Lok Sabha poll. The alliance won eight seats-- RJD five and LJP three. The Congress, which went alone, too did well with two seats, and according to Nitish was a reason for his setback as “it splintered the votes.” However, party leaders feel there was upper caste anger against Nitish’s thrust on backwards and dalits and corruption besides infighting. A jubilant RJD chief said “Lalu cannot be written off”, Paswan warned: “We have won the semifinal and will win the final too.” Meanwhile, like Bihar, Delhi’s Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit too faces a setback after its clean sweep in the Lok Sabha poll. The Congress failed to win either of the two seats in the bypoll. The BJP and the RJD won one each.  

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Kerala Tops Passport List

Kerala has earned one more first, among others. It issues the largest number of passports not only in the South but the entire country. Last year, 6, 69777 passports were issued from four of its Regional Passport Offices-- an increase of 20 per cent from 2005. The reason could be obvious, Kerala has the highest number of people going to the Gulf for jobs. Interestingly, the other southern States follow suit. Tamil Nadu issued over 5 lakh new passports, Andhra Pradesh 4,50454, and Karnataka 2,63109. As against this, the issuance is very low, in fact much below the 1 lakh mark in States such as Orissa (43,590), Madhya Pradesh (60,734), Uttaranchal (10,470), Himachal (22,927) and Jharkhand (33,346). The State which has now joined the big league is Uttar Pradesh. Over four lakh passports were issued there in 2008, behind Maharashtra which crossed the 5 lakh mark for the first time.   

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Mayawati Hits back

Notwithstanding the apology she tendered to the Supreme Court for not adhering to its order on the construction of memorial sites, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati is her fiery self again. Last week, Behenjii gave a stern warning to rivals, Congress and the Samajwadi Party saying that any move to harm these memorials, would lead to such “a serious grave law and order problem that President’s rule will have to be imposed in the country.” While the two parties may choose to ignore it as political rhetoric, the Centre can ill afford to do so. The Union Home Ministry must make a note of it.---INFA

 
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