In a move that can plug corruption in the Rural Development department (RDD), the Yogi Adityanath government has introduced a digital system in which estimates of projects of schemes under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) will be prepared on-line.
The government has introduced a secured software for this purpose.
Government spokesman Awanish Awasthi said that earlier reports regarding squandering of money while preparing estimates of construction work under MNREGA scheme were frequently forcing the government to look for alternatives to check this corruption.
“The government has now decided to introduce a digital system through which estimates of all MNREGA works would be prepared online. A secured software has been developed and it has been introduced in the Rural Development department. The officials have been imparted required training to run the software,” he said.
Awasthi said the software was so advanced that once details of any construction work, including its dimension, were fed, it automatically gave the estimates.
This, he said. would not only save time in preparing the estimate but also government money.
“The software will ensure uniformity in all estimates and also take care of human errors that creep in, resulting in delay in clearance to the project,” the spokesman said.
In a review meeting, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was informed about leakages at various levels while preparing estimates for construction works. An initial enquiry revealed that different estimates were suggested for the same kind of work. In some cases, the estimates were much higher than the actual cost.
“Introduction of this digital system will not only end corruption in the government department but also speed up the estimation work. The whole system will be monitored at the district, division and state level. Any discrepancy can be checked with the click of the muse,” he said.
The spokesman said the progress of the work would be monitored by the Chief Minister himself during monthly review meetings.