NGO slams rural jobs scheme implementation in Assam

Guwahati, April 19 (IANS) A survey of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNEGA) in Assam has revealed that only about 18 lakh households out the 43 lakh provided job cards in the state were provided with jobs in 2011-12, an NGO said Thursday.

The survey jointly carried out by North East Social Trust (NEST), a Guwahati based NGO, revealed that a total of 43.7 lakh households in Assam are provided with job cards in Assam in the last one year but out of this only 17,98,372 households are able to get jobs under the scheme.

"We have taken the help of data provided by the government of Assam regarding implementation of the ambitious act. But the figures show that 58.84 percent people, who were given job cards under the scheme, were not been able to get any job during the last financial year," said Tasaduk Ariful Hussain, executive director of NEST.

"This is not all. What is more frustrating is the fact that out of the 43.7 lakh households, only 45,490 (1.04 percent) households were provided with 100 days jobs. Out of those who worked under the MGNREGA, 73 percent households got employment for less than 30 days in the whole year," Hussain added.

Giving the detailed statistics, Hussain further revealed that Kokrajhar district could provide highest numbers of 100 days employment by giving employment to 23,216 households while in Dima Hasao (formerly known as North Cachar Hills) district, not even a single house hold could complete 100 days employment.

He also noted that no registration has taken place under the scheme in 12 panchayats in Assam last year. "Again in 12 Panchayats under Manikpur and Borobazar in Chirang district, there is no demand for work," he said and added that although Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendras (RGSK) are supposed to be set up under all the panchayats as per the act, only 19 RGSK have been set up so far in Assam.

"Although the MGNREGA has made it mandatory to set up RGSKs in each Panchayats with proper facility for vocational training for the job card holders, yet this is largely ignored in Assam," he said.

"The MGNREGA is one of the best schemes of the central government particularly for a country like India and it can not only stop the migration from rural areas to urban areas but also fight hunger. Unfortunately, the government has not been able to implement it properly," he claimed.