Morung Express News
Dimapur | April 4
The ACAUT has urged the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) to uphold its assurance to transparently and fairly conduct the process of issuing application forms of Central government sponsored employment schemes. The ACAUT on April 4 visited the Nagaland State KVIC office at Naga Shopping Arcade, Dimapur following allegations of the KVIC withholding PMEG application forms from aspiring applicants during 2015.
According to ACAUT, several applicants were deprived of availing forms in 2015 for unexplained reasons. Quoting accounts of applicants who were able to avail the forms, ACAUT alleged that applicants had to pay Rs. 1500 a form contrary to the KVIC guidelines, which stipulates that forms should be issued free of cost. Further, ACAUT said that applicants had to endure harassment waiting in queue for hours while the form issuing counter opened for barely 15 minutes a day. In total only around 400 forms were issued in 2015 by the KVIC, which was confirmed by employees at the KVIC state office today.
The numbers of applicants seeking forms were more than double, ACAUT said while adding that equal opportunity be given to all applicants irrespective of the targeted number of projects being sponsored by the Central government. As a new financial year begins and the KVIC prepares for a fresh round of issuing and processing applications, the ACAUT urged KVIC to be fair and transparent in its dealings.
In this regard, the ACAUT said that it met the Assistant Director, KVIC, Nagaland state office in March 2016. During the meeting, the KVIC official assured of transparently conducting the form-issuing process while ensuring that no aspiring applicant is deprived of availing form. The official also assured to make available application forms throughout the form-issuing period and without charges, the ACAUT said. As per advertisements published in the local dailies in 2015, the form-issuing period was July 1-8 with the last date of form submission as July 22, which was extended.
The ACAUT however could not meet the official today as one of the employees present said that he was away on an official tour.
Expressing displeasure, the ACAUT further said that the KVIC in failing in its stipulated duties. As per the guidelines, the KVIC is required to conduct awareness drives and provide free counselling and guidance. On this, one KVIC employee said that it is because of a lack of manpower.
Further, pointing to an alleged nexus between banks and the KVIC, one ACAUT member said, “The problem not only ends at the form processing stage. Selected beneficiaries later face the banks where another fresh round of ‘running around’ begins.”
