State appoints Ombudsmen for rural job scheme

MUMBAI: The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has ushered in a revolution of sorts in rural India by providing employment to people in the country’s dusty villages.

Now, the state has taken a lead in ensuring that many more citizens can benefit from the Act. Maharashtra is probably the first state to appoint Ombudsmen and deputy Ombudsmen in most of its districts for effective monitoring of the centrally-sponsored schemes under the Act.

“We have taken a lead and appointed Ombudsmen and deputy Ombudsmen in 19 of the 35 districts,” a senior official told TOI on Saturday. “The remaining districts will soon get Ombudsmen and deputy Ombudsmen . Maharashtra is the first state to initiate this exercise,” the official said.

During the drought of 1972, the state government had launched an employment guarantee scheme to provide livelihood to people, particularly in rural parts of Maharashtra.

Over 35 years later, the Centre enacted NREGA and asked all state governments to implement the rural employment scheme. While the Union government agreed to fund 90% of the scheme, states had to pitch in the remaining 10%.

While the scheme was an instant success, reports about rampant corruption began to emerge. “Complaints started pouring in. However, in the absence of an redressal mechanism, we couldn’t offer much by way of relief to rural workers. It was then decided to appoint an Ombudsman in each district for quick disposal of complaints,’’ said the official.

The Centre has asked the Ombudsmen to ensure that the scheme is implemented in a transparent manner and that all complaints are addressed in a time-bound manner.

In a bid to ensure justice for each and every job-seeker, the Centre has come out with a detailed procedure for the appointment of the Ombudsman and his deputy. The union government has asked all the states to set up committees, headed by respective chief secretaries, for the appointment of the Ombudsman. Once the committee selects the Ombudsman, the state must put up his/her name on its website for suggestions and objections.

“The Centre has made it clear that the Ombudsman should be a man of high integrity with at least 20 years’ experience,’’ said the official. In Maharashtra, during April-May 2010, over three lakh workers benefited from the employment guarantee scheme. At present, there are only 9,000 people working on 1,117 projects. “We pay Rs 100 per person per day under the scheme. In the rainy season, a worker is paid more as few report for work during the monsoon months,” the official added.