By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The East Khasi Hills district administration has warned of action against those in authority who ostracize people for revealing anomalies in the implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).
Speaking to reporters here on Friday, the newly appointed Deputy Commissioner Sanjay Goyal said, “No one can ostracize the villagers who reveal anomalies in implementation of the job scheme.”
In many cases since the headmen hold the posts of secretaries and chairmen of Village Employment Councils (VECs), there are allegations of misuse of their authority by ostracizing families who had questioned the faulty implementation of NREGS.
Goyal said that as per rule it is not necessary that the headmen and the Dorbar functionaries should alone hold the posts of secretary and chairperson of VECs.
According to Goyal, the holding of social audit needs to be widely publicized to ensure transparency in the implementation of NREGS.
“There is already avigilance and monitoring committee, part of NREGS implementation, which is supposed to scrutinize the projects under the job scheme,” he said adding that the district administration will hold awareness campaign on various aspects related to the scheme for its proper implementation.
On December 27, two families of a village under Pynursla block in East Khasi Hills were ostracized by Umniuh (Tmai) Iarbiniaw Dorbar Shnong for exposing a scam in the implementation of NREGS.
The job car holders, K.Mawkhlieng and R. Khongtiang hailing from Umniuh (Tmai) Iarbiniaw had revealed that the secretary of Village Employment Council (VEC) Lemon Khongpliar who is also the headman of the village had forged their signatures and took away their wages from the period from 2009 to 2011.
In response to this, the village headmen and the Dorbar socially ostracized the families of Mawkhlieng and R. Khongtiang.
Earlier on behalf of the families, the Shillong based NGO, Civil Society Women’s Organisation (CSWO) had lodged the complaint with the Pynursla police outpost about the misappropriation of funds under NREGS by the staff of Pynursla block development office and the secretary of VEC from 2009 to 2011 .
Another seventeen families were also ostracised for filing an RTI questioning the village authorities when they were denied of their right to avail food grains supplied by the government in Dongrum locality of Mawsynram village.