Jharkhand’s dismal show in adopting latest technology and digitisation of data available is taking its toll on transparency in various schemes and its delivery to the actual beneficiaries.
Out of 2.5 lakh beneficiaries for pension in seven Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) districts of the State just 88,000 have their Aadhaar numbers and 84,000 of them is seeded. Ironically just 1.47 lakh of them have their bank account numbers. No different is the situation in making available digital ration cards to the PDS beneficiaries. The State has just made 40 lakh digital ration cards, falling way behind counterparts Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh which achieved this feat way back in 2008-09.
“In what sense we are different from Andhra Pradesh and ChhattisgarhIJ We have funds, database, technology and all this! Why we have not done thisIJ Are we living in a space age or in a bullock-cart ageIJ Why are we drawing our salaries,” asked fuming Chief Secretary RS Sharma to Deputy Commissioners and senior officials coming from various districts in a workshop on DBT on Tuesday.
Estimates suggest that the Centre releases about Rs 1,680 crore every year for BPl families under various heads of food subsidy whereas the State contributes Rs 480 crore. With latest Food Security Bill provisions Rs 3,080 crore additional would come from the Centre. Great chances of pilferage would remain in the absence of digitisation.
The CS did not stop here and made it clear that the jobs like digitisation of land records, linking MGNREGA payment through DBT gateway, seeding of beneficiaries' bank accounts with their Aadhaar numbers and even enrolment for the UID card would see no hindrance from even politicians. "I am very disappointed with the progress that has been made. I cannot understand the reason behind the dismal performance," added the official.
Expressing disgust over the rural job scheme's progress, he said that demand for job in the State has come down instead of growing and it is not that people here have turned affluent. "Had it been so, it would have been a very happy situation for us. But the actual reason is that the NREGA labourers do not get wages in time," he said underlining the need for promptly adoption of DBT route.
As per latest figures, 58 per cent population of the State has been covered in Jharkhand by the UID numbers. As the Centre is in the process of expanding DBT-l for cooking gas subsidy in other DBT districts the pace has to be fastened here. Seven districts of Jharkhand have been covered under DBT scheme in two phases.
Rural Development Department Secretary RS Poddar also stressed on implementing DBT in MGNREGA on priority basis. "We have just achieved 61 per cent of the targeted person days in the first quarter. It is because of non-transparency in the system. The GOI has called a review meeting on August 30 to revise labour budget for the States," said Poddar hinting to the fear that Jharkhand could see a cut on the account of lower person days generation.