PM for effective oversight mechanism for anti-poverty schemes

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said an effective oversight mechanism is "extremely important" on various poverty alleviation programmes as the government has made a whopping allocation of Rs 68,000 crore on them.

"Allocations for poverty alleviation programmes are rising every year. We have now to ensure that our people get the best value for every rupee spent on their behalf," he said addressing the conference of state ministers of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj here.

He said a sum of Rs 39,000 crore has been allocated for NREGA scheme and Rs 2,350 crore for the Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojna (SGSY).

Similarly, under Rajiv Gandhi National Rural Drinking Water Mission and the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna, provisions have been made for Rs 8,000 crore and Rs 18,500 crore respectively in the current year, he said adding, "effective oversight of these programmes is therefore extremely important."

Noting that the performance of the NREGA programme was "uneven across states", the Prime Minister said some states have shown good results and some others are lagging behind. "I urge them to catch up."

"We still have miles to go before we achieve the full potential of this unique legislation," he said and referred to the setting up of a 'Delivery Monitoring Unit' at the Prime Minister's Office to monitor the flagship projects such as NREGA programme.

The Prime Minister said though major success has been achieved under NREGA, it should not be a cause for complacency.

The government proposes to set up an institution of ombudsman in each district for effective grievance redressal under NREGA, he said, emphasising the need to mobilise public opinion and use of social audits for the enforcement of rights and entitlements of the people.

Singh said his government has taken a major decision to restructure and redesign the SGSY and convert it into National Rural Livelihood Mission.

The new scheme, to be implemented on a mission mode, will use a multi-pronged strategy for poverty reduction in a time bound manner by providing sustainable livelihood through various means to rural population below the poverty line, he added.