Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat
After enactment of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MG NREGA) in the year 2005, lots of complaints were piling up as officials of Rural Development department and village Panchayats were found to be involved in mass bungling and corruption. To curb corruption and misappropriation of NREGA funds Government of India in 2009 mooted an idea to appoint Ombudsmen at district level to oversee the better implementation of this scheme.The job of these Ombudsmen is to oversee and monitor the implementation of this national flagship programme at the District level. MG- NREGS was extended to J&K almost 10 years back but till date we do not find even a single Ombudsman appointed in any of the districts in Jammu &Kashmir . An Ombudsman is an independent authority who is selected by a committee of people identified by the Ministry of Rural Development which is headed by state Chief Secretary . These people (Ombudsmen) are supposed to act as Lok Pals for ensuring transparency in MG- NREGS at district level. It is now 7th year since the order to appoint NREGS Ombudsman was issued by Government of India asking state Government’s to appoint them , but till date our state Government has failed to adhere to the said order.
Order to appoint Ombudsmen:
According to the notification issued by the Ministry of Rural Development Govt of India under Order No: J-111011/21/2008 -NREGA Dated : 7th September 2009 , all the state Governments were supposed to set up the office of the Ombudsman in all the districts within three months of the issuance of the said order, but till date J&K Government has not at all abided by the said order. The previous Government was already under fire from various quarters for its failure to appoint Ombudsmen and during the 6 year tenure of NC-Congress Government , Ombudsmen could not be appointed. The present Government has also not taken any steps which could facilitate appointment of Ombudsmen. Not a single high level meeting has been held regarding this issue.
Who can be a NREGA Ombudsman ?
As per the guidelines provided by Ministry of Rural Development Government of India ,the selection of Ombudsman shall be made from among persons of eminent standing and impeccable integrity with at least twenty years of experience in public administration, law, academics, social work or management. No person who is a member of a political party shall be considered for appointment as Ombudsman . The persons selected as Ombudsman must be physically active and capable of conducting field tours, inspections and visits to remote rural locations in the districts.The guidelines further say that the Ombudsman shall be appointed for a tenure of 2 years extendable by one year based on performance appraisal or till the incumbent attains the age of 65 years or whichever is earlier. There shall be no reappointment. Performance appraisal shall be made by the Selection Committee. A copy of the performance appraisal report shall be furnished to the State Employment Guarantee Council which also is yet to be established in the J&K State. On unsatisfactory performance, the Ombudsman may be removed by the State Government on the recommendation of the Selection Committee.
Selection Committee :
The State Chief Secretary will be the chairperson of the selection committee , the representative of Union Ministry of Rural Development and eminent Civil Society Person nominated by Union Ministry of Rural Development will be its members . The Secretary of Rural Development at state level will be the Member / Convenor of the selection committee . The State Government may appoint one or more persons, but not more than three persons, as the Ombudsmen in one District. The Ombudsman has the powers to receive complaints from NREGA workers and others on any matter related to implementation of this scheme. The Ombudsman will consider such complaints and facilitate their disposal in accordance with law. He or she can ask the NREGA authority , BDO’s etc to provide any information or furnish certified copies of any document relating to the subject matter of the complaint which is or is alleged to be in his possession. In the event of failure of such authority to comply with the requisition without any sufficient cause, the Ombudsman may, if he deems fit, draw the inference that the information, if provided or copies if furnished, would be unfavourable to the concerned NREGA Authority. He can Issue direction for conducting spot investigation and to lodge FIRs against the erring parties. He can initiate proceedings suomotu in the event of any circumstance arising within his jurisdiction that may cause any grievance . Engage experts for facilitating the disposal of the complaint. Ombudsman can direct for disciplinary and punitive actions as well. The Ombudsman reports his findings to the Chief Secretary of the State and the Secretary, State Nodal Department for appropriate legal action against erring persons.
Conclusion :
On May 12th 2013 Daily Excelsior had filed a detailed report on non-appointment of NREGA Ombudsmen in J&K. Excelsior correspondent MohinderVermahad spoken to the then Secretary Rural Development MrFarooq Peer on this very issue. Mr Peer had assured the correspondent that meeting of selection committee members would be held soon. It is now more than three years since that assurance was given by the then Secretary Rural Development Department J&K Govtand until now , Ombudsmen haven’t been appointed. On December 30th 2013 Rural Development Department haf issued advertisement regarding appointment of Ombudsmen at various places but nobody knows what happened after-wsrds. Right now if people have any complaint regarding corruption in MG NREGA they can file the complaint with Block Development Officer (BDO), Assistant Commissioner Development (ACD), Deputy Commissioner or Director Rural Development. People allege that they do not get justice from these offices and setting up the Ombudsmen offices is need of the hour. It is urged upon Chief Minister MehboobaMufti , Minister for Rural Development Abdul Haq Khan and Chief Secretary B R Sharma to ensure appointment of Ombudsmen in each district so that poor people , especially NREGA workers get justice and there is complete transparency while implementing this national flagship programme.
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