A House Panel report on rural development has slammed the Planning Commission for not devoting adequate attention resulting in reduced allocation of funds for rural developmentduring the Eleventh Plan (2007-12).
Prioritise basic needs
Analysing the demands for grants of the Ministry of Rural Development for the current fiscal, the Departmental Standing Committee headed by Ms Sumitra Mahajan, found that as against the proposal of about Rs 4.07 lakh crore, the Ministry received only Rs 2.96 crore i.e., about 75 per cent of the amount sought. Even whatever inadequate Plan funds are made available for rural development, the Committee is concerned that the performance of the Department falls short of expectations. Against the available allocation of about Rs 2.96 lakh crore, the total anticipated expenditure during the 11{+t}{+h} Plan is only about Rs 2.88 lakh crore, leaving about Rs 8,000 crore as unutilised.
To ensure that the allocated amount does not go unspent during the current Plan, it urged the Ministry to beef up the co-ordination and monitoring process in consultation with the States. In this context, the Committee noted that the key to better financial management and reaching the envisaged benefits to the intended people lies in the “effective devolution of functions, finances and functionaries to the PRIs, the fostering of local level planning by the District Planning Committee as envisaged in the 73{+r}{+d} and 74{+t}{+h} amendments to the Constitution”.
guaranteed employment
Taking the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) for a review, the Committee said that as against the provision of 100 days of guaranteed employment to all who seek job, the implementation at the ground level has left much to be desired.
Not only has the mandated number of days of employment (100 days) not been provided those unable to secure such employment have not been paid in most cases, it observed.
Based on figures from the Ministry, the Committee said only 5 crore job card holders got employment out of a total of 11.6 crore and that too at an average of 54 days of employment against the mandatory 100 days of guaranteed job. It said the basic methods of assessment of demand are “flawed, particularly when the highest percentage of eligible households to get 100 days of MGNREGA employment stands at 36 per cent in Tripura and precipitously drops to 6-8 per cent in populous States with high rural unemployment like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa and Chhattisgarh.
Arraigning that the physical performance of MGNREGA has been even more deplorable than its financial performance, the Committee said that the scheme has not been able to consolidate its position in terms of completion of works albeit being a five-year-old programme, as is borne out from the fact that less than 50 per cent of MGNREGA works have been completed since inception.
The report cautioned that despite high growth rates in the past, income disparities have widened which is a danger to both the democracy and development.