‘Have central nod for implementation of MGNREGS in census towns’

SHILLONG, Sep 12: Community & Rural Development (C&RD) Minister Hamletson Dohling on Monday said that the Centre has approved the proposal of implementing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in census towns of Meghalaya.
Dohling was responding to a query by Mawlai MLA PT Sawkmie during the question hour at the Autumn session of the Assembly here on Monday.
The C&RD Minister informed that the central government, in a letter to the state government last year, said that MGNREGS can be implemented in census towns, which are not under the urban local bodies or the cantonment.
On a query about the financial position of MGNREGS in the state, he informed that during the current financial year, the total fund available is Rs 741.27 crore.
“The expenditure incurred on wages is Rs 107.46 crore Rs 316.63 crore on material component,” the C&RD minister said.
Informing that the Centre has cut some per cent of MGNREGS in Meghalaya for the current financial year, Dohling informed that the total pending bills for materials in East Khasi Hills is Rs 40.47 crore.