MGNREGA payment to go online in Chhattisgarh

The move will help to prepare errorless muster roll and ensure payment without delay to the card-holders

Chhattisgarh government has started work on the project to facilitate e-payment to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (MGNREGA) workers in the state.

In January this year, the state government had made it compulsory to introduce the electronic muster roll system (EMRS) in all the districts. This would help to prepare errorless muster roll and ensure payment without delay to the card-holders who had worked under the programme.

"In the financial year 2013-14 that had started this month, the state government had kicked off the project to implement the electronic fund management system in all the 27 districts in the state," Additional Chief Secretary (Panchayat and Rural Development) Vivek Dhand said.

The department organised a workshop on the subject and briefed about the basis of the system to the chief executive officers and other concerned. The government also invited suggestions from the officials to ensure effective implementation of the system in the state.

Dhand said the electronic payment system would help the authorities to pay workers without delay. The list digitally signed by the competent authority would be transferred online to the bank, which would credit the payment to the account of the worker.

The system would aid paperless working as there would be no use of cheque, pay-order or bank draft. Moreover, the authorities need not have to release payment for each district separately for payment to the workers.

At present, about 1.70 million MGNREGA card-holders are working under the programme in Chhattisgarh. The officials informed that as against the sanctioned amount of Rs 2,707 crore for the MGNREGA works, Rs 2159 crore had been spent in the state.