The Orissa government is in the process of developing a ‘mate manual’ for the Gram Sanjojaks to carry out the measurement of earth works taken up under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).
A seven member panel would be formed in every village which would take up the measurement work along with normal co-ordination work that was performed earlier by the Gaon Sathis.
Since the junior engineers are not doing the measurement of earth work taken up under the NREGS due to the paucity of time, the state panchayatiraj department has decided to entrust this job to the Gram Sanjojaks, official sources said. The Gram Sanjojaks would be trained in the measurement work and the mate manual is being developed for this purpose. However, the junior engineers would oversee the measurement once a week. The Gram Sanjojaks would be paid the remuneration at the rate of Rs 103 per day, meant for a semi-skilled worker, on the days they work. It would be spent out of the NREGS fund.
It may be noted, after implementation of the electronic benefit transfer (EBT) scheme for beneficiaries under the NREGS, the Orissa government is in the process of appointing Ombudsman for the works taken up under the scheme. One Ombudsman would be appointed for every district and will look into any complain pertaining to the efficiency of the programme and irregularities. If warranted, the Ombudsman can even call the district collector to his court.
Besides, it can punish any government employee for flouting the norms of the scheme, which is intended to provide 100 days of wage based employment. The violation of the procedure can land the concerned employee to pay a fine of about Rs 1000.