Jairam Ramesh’s NREGS tip widens Congress-NCP rift

Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh’s suggestion to bring the national rural employment guarantee scheme (NREGS) under the state rural development department has widened the rift between the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Jairam wrote to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, suggesting that the EGS be brought under the state rural development department (RDD) for effective implementation in September this year, but in a reply, dated October 7, Chavan bluntly refused. He also clarified that the department, which is headed by Nitin Raut of the Congress, was doing a good job and the reason for drawing minimal central government funds was different.

The state government had drawn Rs350 crore from the centre under the national rural employment guarantee scheme (NREGS), as against few other states spending over Rs4,000 crore.  Jairam had scolded the state RDD for the meagre spending and suggested that the NREGS be brought under RDD.

The EGS department claimed that sufficient funds were drawn from the Centre under the scheme. “It’s true that only Rs400 crore were utilised from the centre in 2010-11, but in the last six months, we have drawn nearly Rs600 crore and it will reach Rs1,500 crore by the end of the financial year,” said Raut. He said the number of labourers working under the scheme has gone up to 61,000 from 8,000 last year.

The Congress has targeted the NCP for leaking only Jairam’s letter to the media and hiding the CM’s reply.