Dimapur, June 27 (MExN): The Office of the Kohima District Congress Committee has responded to the statement issued by Zapu-o Zhasa and Tsopi Livi on behalf of the Village Council Chairmen and VDB Secretaries of Southern Angami villages which appeared in the local newspapers on 24th and 25th June, 2010.
A press note issued by Sevotso Seyie, Chairman, NREGS Cell, DCC, Kohima and R. Paphino Secretary, NREGS Cell, DCC, Kohima has made it known to the public that the Congress as an Opposition party in Nagaland was giving its priority in areas where the downtrodden and poor villagers can get their due shares so that they are economically uplifted through schemes and programs provided, particularly by the Central Government.
In this regard the Congress pointed out that the NREGS program was one mega project exclusively for the welfare of the rural villagers wherein Kohima District alone had received a whopping Rs. 94 Crores from 2007-2010. “If this huge grant was judiciously and fairly given to the poor villagers just imagine what would be the status and condition of the impoverished villagers today”, stated the press note from the NREGS Cell DCC Kohima.
Stating that NREGS fund was meant for the poor villagers, the press note pointed out that his was “clearly an employment substitute program which means that those villagers who have no source of regular earning (unemployed), the NREGS program is created by Delhi to provide 100 days earning program in a calendar year as a substitute of job holders (employed)”. The DCC Kohima therefore stated that NREGS was a “holistic program designed to improve and stabilize the economic condition of the poor and downtrodden villagers” and therefore it was very clear that NREGS money is “not the private property of the Village Councils, VDBs, Rural Development Officers & Staff, DAN Government agencies but they are only the assigned authorities to implement and execute the NREGS fund strictly in line with the prescribed provisions under NREGA Operational Guidelines passed and approved as a Parliament act in 2005 so as to ensure that the money goes directly to the poor villagers (job card holders)”.
While clarifying its position, the DCC Kohima pointed out that the public must know that the Congress-UPA Government have done a commendable job in bringing RTI act and NREGA which the basic objective states as “To provide transparency and accountability in the working of any public authority (includes VDB establishment known as PRI) and to contain corruption”. The Acts provides a powerful tool to each and every citizen to get information from the Government agencies as a matter of legal right, it stated.
In the present context, the DCC Kohima stated that the Village Council Chairmen and VDB Secretaries of Southern Angami villages represented by Zapu-o Zhasa and Tsopi Livi should know that the job cards and Household records are purely Nagaland Government records and that it was their privilege to make it crystal clear that the District Congress Committee, Kohima NREGS cell had obtained the facts and figures from Rural Development office and Deputy Commissioner’s office, Kohima under RTI and NREGS act and “not a grain of our own notion had been ascribed in our publication”.
“Therefore, the allegation leveled against NREGS cell, DCC, Kohima that the release of facts and figures in the print media are misleading and baseless has nakedly implied that the information furnished to the DCC, Kohima by the Public Information Officer(PIOs) of RD department and DC’s office, Kohima through RTI were misleading and false”, the press note stated. Describing this as “irresponsible and untenable statement”, the DCC Kohima stated that this not only undermines the Parliamentary Act but also amounts to contempt of Court under RTI Act, 2005. “It is a pity that an established semi-Government agencies (Village Councils & VDBs) are opposing their own Government activities-a sheer mockery”.
Stating that the DCC, Kohima was painstakingly examining the implementation of NREGS programs in all the villages for several months now, the press note informed that the party had already acquainted itself with details of its operations down to the village level especially the factual position and status of the job cards. As far as the job card lists (detail names) are concerned, interested villagers and public have been invited to check the job card lists in the office of DCC, Kohima during working hours to ascertain the actual position of job cards of all the villages of Kohima District.
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