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Neiphiu Rio speaking during the VDB conference in Kohima. (EM Images)[/caption]
Kohima Bureau
Kohima, April 24 (EMN): Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Tuesday made it clear that village functionaries holding dual charges defeat the principle of transparency and accountability; and underscored the need to remove government employees from the state’s unique Village Development Boards (VDBs).
Addressing the Nagaland VDB and Village Council Conference 2018 at the NBCC Convention Centre in Kohima, Rio stated that Nagaland’s VDBs have been functioning for almost four decades and are regarded as a role model for local self government and community participation across the country. With the VDB becoming a 1238-strong organisation today from 74 blocks state-wide, he said this called for a visit to the past to plan strategies for the future to improve and transform the quality of rural lives.
In order to adapt to rapid changing facets of development and to warrant optimal use of funds for the development of rural areas and the people, the chief minister made a clarion call to all the VDB and village council to ensure that all VDB secretaries were well-educated and conversant with IT and ITes.
He also called for removal of all government employees from the boards as the literary percentages of the state at 78.55% indicated that all the 1238 villages should have at least one non-government employee who is educated and literate and can execute the role.
Pointing out that the VDB handles enormous amount of funds, Rio stated that the department of Rural Development (RD) must frame rules and procedures for handing over charge of VDB secretaries as their given tenure is for three years only. He also asserting the need for not diverting fund for recovery of payment of community loans, or be used for contrition/repair, maintenance of churches, temples or mosque buildings.
Stating that most of the projects under centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) were to be geo-tagged for better monitoring, the chief minister said the RD department must provide smart phones to all the functionaries of the blocks and VDBs and train them to upload geo-tagged projects.
‘MGNREGS fund twice that of state plan’
Rio said as per the budget estimates for 2018-19, a total of INR 3567.36 cr has been earmarked under CSS, out of which, MGNREGS has an outlay of INR 1159.09 cr. “This is almost double the amount of INR 580 cr. that is available for development activities under state plan,” he pointed out. He mentioned that the state’s outgo on non-developmental components is almost 56% of total budget which includes salaries and wages etc., and another 12% on loan repayments. Thus, he said the state has very limited resources for developmental activities under state plan and emphasized on the need to judiciously utilize funds under CSS.
“This huge fund under MGNREGS can change the rural landscape of our villages if we leverage it, implement and use the funds judiciously,” Rio stated. Towards the best use of the funds under MGNREGS and grant-in-aid to VDBs, he said the process of convergence is essential for supplementing not only existing traditional programmes but inter departmental implementation of programmes where technical resources from converged departments were utilized for implementing rural development programmes.
Also stating that BDOs were the cutting edge and backbone of the MGNREGS, he called upon the block officers to rededicate their service and quality of implementation of projects with timely reporting, updation in the MIS, geoMNGREGA, BHUVAN etc. The chief minister asserted that VDBs should also act like an ombudsman to the employees of district RD authorities (DRDAs) and the BDOs.
He acknowledged that there is excess employees in the RD department under various programs where MGNREGS was the ‘biggest defaulter’, while also stating to be aware of problems regarding ‘unproductive employees’. Towards this, he said the department was planning to filter/screen them out through a suitability test at the headquarter with the project director DRDA as member so as to utilize the savings from ‘discarded employees’ to increase honorariums to the fixed wages, particularly the data entry operators who perform the most crucial work in MIS uploading and geo-tagging of projects.
He also announced that as a sign of the PDA government to bring change, the department heads were instructed to explore a system of penalty, imposed on slow progress and poor quality of project implementation.
Rio informed that the 14th Finance Commission Award did not recommend grants to areas not included in the Schedule VI of Part IXA of the Constitution of India, but the government of India in 2017-18 decided to provide grants to these excluded areas including Nagaland to the tune of INR 185 cr.
With only 42 out of 74 RD blocks having access to banking services currently, the chief minister termed banking services in Nagaland as poorly established. In view of the requirement of direct benefit transfer (DBT) to beneficiaries of MGNREGS, he stressed on the need to focus on the service banked blocks to scale up progress.
Rio announced that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, Government of India chaired by the Prime Minister has given its approval for new restructured scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) with a total outlay of INR 7255.50 cr to be implemented from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2030. He said the scheme will be extended to all states and in Nagaland, Kiphire was identified as the ‘Aspirational District’ by NITI Aayog out of 115 districts in India which will focus on sectorial interventions to be aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Rio expressed happiness that the Pete Village Level Organisation (VLO) under Jakhama Block in Kohima district has been selected out of 2,30,158 VLOs in India for the 10 Best Performing VLOs under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) National Award which he said was a huge achievement and encouragement to others under various flagship programmes in the state. This also goes on to show that other villages in Nagaland would not be far behind, he said, and urged upon all the village authorities to develop a sense of competitiveness towards striving better. Rio pointed out that the Nagaland VDB model had been successful but needed improvement as there had been weaknesses both from the department (RD) as well as the VDBs parts. He called for the VDBs and village councils, and also the department to realize their shortcomings instead of blaming others.
MLA and advisor for Rural Development, Dr. Neikiesalie Kire, in his keynote address, retraced the origin of the VDB institution to December 1976 at Ketsapomi Village in Phek district on whose success, a mass campaign was launched in 1980 to expand the coverage of this unique institution throughout the state resulting in the enactment of VDB Model Rules, 1980. He told the VDBs to remember that they were part and parcel of the village council and their sole responsibility was to improve their respective rural areas and the people.