DIMAPUR, MARCH 25 (MExN): An amount of Rs 285.50 Crore has been sanctioned to the Nagaland State Directorate of Rural Development under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the first three months of 2018 alone.
This was revealed in documents available at the website of the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. The amount is cumulative of 4 separate sanctions made by the Ministry in favor of the Directorate. They include a sanction of Rs 64.71 Crore on January 17; Rs 20.92 Crore on March 8, 2018; Rs 55 Crore on March 13; and Rs 14.48 Crore on March 16.
These sanctions were made by the Ministry to the State Government of Nagaland “as Central assistance towards wages, material and administration for implementation of the MGNREGA for the financial year 2017-18.”
The sanction orders direct the state government to transfer these funds along with the State share to the State Employment Guarantee Fund for programme implementation within 3 days from the date of receipt of these funds.
“In case of non transfer beyond this period, Central Government may be constrained to stop further releases.
Besides, the State Government would be liable to pay interest @ 12% for the period of delay beyond the specified period,” it added.
The expenditure is debitable to the following Head of Accounts under Demand No. 82 Department of Rural Development (2017-18)-- Grants-in-aid to State Governments (Major Head); Centrally Sponsored Schemes; Central Assistant/Share; Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment; Programme Component-MGNREGA; and Grants for creation of Capital Assets.
Social activist from Dimapur Bendang Lkr, while pointing to these sanctions said that with this amount, the RD department “should be able to provide 26 man days (average) to each job card holders in the state.”
Apart from the aforesaid statement, he informed that the Government of India has also sanctioned to the state of Nagaland, an amount of Rs. 185.09 Crore vide Sanction Order No.F.No.13 (34)/FFC/FCD/2017-18, dated November 8, 2017 as Grants to the excluded area’s (areas not covered under Part IX and Part IX A of the Constitution).
“The release of the aforesaid amount should be able to clear backlog Grant-in-Aid to the VDB’s in Nagaland for three (3) years, i.e. 2014-15, 2015-16, 2017-18,” he claimed. The activist meanwhile said that the department should be able to provide Matching Cash Grant to the VDB's without any constraint. “This fund is also to be utilized for the schemes of the Communitization departments,” he added.
He meanwhile asked the public and the VDB's to be aware of such fund allocation and “fight for what is due to them so that they are not deprived of any sanction granted by the Ministry of Rural Development.”
