The BJP government in Gujarat has praised the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme as a lifesaver for labourers during the Covid-19 pandemic. But the Gujarat government is yet to appoint an MGNREGA ombudsperson.
“The ministry would not release funds to those states which don’t appoint ombudspersons as per the provision of the MGNREGA,” said Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary of Rural Development.
The Dahod district of Gujarat has 2.38 lakh labourers engaged under MGNREGA, followed by Bhavnagar (77,659) and Narmada (59,208), said the state government in its report, Implications of COVID-19 on Gujarat on Energy, Emissions, Climate and Development Perspectives.
As per the Union Rural Development Ministry, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa (BJP ruled) and TRS-ruled Telangana and union territories such as Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli don’t have a single ombudsperson for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MDNREGS).
Mr Sinha clarified that ideally, states should appoint ombudspersons in all their districts under the MGNREGS. The states which don’t appoint ombudspersons in at least 80 per cent of the total districts under MGENREGS would not get funds from the next financial year for the implementation of the employment guarantee scheme.
According to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), states are instructed to appoint an ombudsperson for each district for receiving grievances, enquiring and passing awards as per guidelines of the Union Rural Development Ministry.
Launching the Ombudsperson app for MGNREGS on Thursday, Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh had expressed concerns over the non-appointment of ombudspersons in various districts and said it has been noticed that persons belonging to political parties were appointed at many places.
It is important to appoint an ombudsperson because the workers can approach the officer easily and get their problems addressed within a short period. Currently, they are taking their problems to the respective block development officers (BDOs) in the union office, where they are not getting any solutions.
