The initial glitch that was experienced while inaugurating the Direct Benefit Transfer of wages to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (DBT-M) is likely to resurface at other panchayats also.
The district administration that was caught napping at lalli panchayat hasn’t learned from its mistakes as yet it is to improve network conditions especially in panchayats located in far flung areas of the district. “Nothing has been done so far to improve infrastructure in our area. Connectivity is pathetic, Internet is for namesake. I suspect that we can see a total implementation of the scheme from January 1,” said Sangita Devi, mukhiya of Chatra in Angara block.
Notably, as per the central government directive the state has to put infrastructure in place by the end of December besides ensuring seeding of Aadhar number of all MGNREGA workers to ease the transfer of wages directly in the accounts of intended beneficiaries. Besides connectivity, poor collection of Aadhar number has also aggravated the problem in some panchayats. The Rojgar Sevikas who have been entrusted with collecting Aadhar numbers at the doorstep are returning empty hand. “Most of the people have not received their Aadhar number so the Rojgar sevikas could not collect Aadhar numbers,” added Devi.
Interestingly, absence of infrastructure has put some panchayats at the mercy of neighbouring panchayat thus putting serious question on the success of the scheme. “There is a mobile tower in neighbouring panchayat which provides connectivity. The situation has not changed even after the scheme was announced by the government,” conceded Nilmohan Munda, mukhiya of Reladih panchayat of Bundu.
While the mukhiyas are pointing towards lack of infrastructure officials are offering contradictory versions on the preparedness of the administration in implementing the scheme. The district administration expressed preparedness on rolling out the scheme for the beginning of the next year. “Connectivity is not an issue anymore. Preparations are going on and we will implement the scheme,” said Deputy Development Commissioner Sant Kumar Verma.
Despite optimism in the district administration lack of coordination between different agencies involved in the project is also said to be adding to the problem. “Coordination is needed between different agencies which is definitely is not visible at the moment. However I am confident that the scheme will be rolled out on the appointed day,” confided Chairperson of District Council Sundari Tirkey.
The scheme will be launched with the help of India Post, which will help in transferring money in a beneficiary’s account while the department of Information Technology will procure the handheld devices that will be used for transferring wages.