MGNREGA: Par'l panel unhappy over lack of grievance redressal

A parliamentary panel today expressed dissatisfaction over lack of grievance redressal mechanism in a number of states for MGNREGA and pitched for strong monitoring for successful implementation of the flagship rural job scheme.
The Standing Committee on Rural Development, chaired by AIADMK MP P Venugopal, in its eighteenth report said, "Slow progress on appointment of ombudsmen speaks volumes about functioning of the department of rural development on the issue. The Committee, therefore, reiterates strong monitoring and Grievance Redressal Mechanism for successful implementation of MGNREGA."
The Committee had earlier noted that only eight states had set up independent social units and a few states had uploaded status of grievances on public domain with many states yet to appoint ombudsmen in their states.

In this context the Committee had recommended strengthening of comprehensive Grievance Redressal Mechanism, Social Audit from grassroots with periodic reviews to be conducted for timely follow-up.
In its reply, the government said that only 10 states -- Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Mizoram, Sikkim, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh -- have operationalised social audit units as laid down in Social Audit Rules 2011 and states of Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Manipur, Meghalaya, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir are in the process of doing it.
The government also informed the panel that states of West Bengal, Bihar, Kerala, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh are yet to comply with the Audit of Schemes Rules 2011. It also told the panel that it was working in close coordination with national auditor CAG on this issue.

Taking strong note of it, the panel said that it was "not at all convinced with the implementation and Grievance Redressal Mechanism for MGNREGA as reported before the committee, in-as-much-as the social audit rules are operational only in ten states even after four years of issue of social audit rules way back in 2011.