Rs. 32.84 cr labour budget cleared for MGNREGA works in East Sikkim in 2012-13

GANGTOK, 21 March [IPR]: The District Planning Committee, East, met yesterday to finalize and approve schemes under MGNREGA in the district for the financial year 2012-13. The meeting, chaired by the East Zilla Adhakshya Bimal Dawari, was convened in the East District Zilla Panchayat Bhawan conference hall here.
After presentations by the Block Development Officers of all the BACs in the district, the District Planning Committee unanimously approved and passed the shelves of schemes under MGNREGA  and the labour budget for east district amounting to Rs. 32.84 crore for the financial year 2012-13. MGNREGA has made it mandatory to approve the projected labour budget along with the shelves of schemes.
The shelves of schemes for the east district include various kinds of projects like Jhora training works, plantation, land development, irrigation channels and cow sheds for the farmers etc.
The Zilla Adhakshya, while addressing the DPC, expressed satisfaction with the works undertaken under MGNREGA in the past five years. Many milestones have been achieved which have been recognized by the Government of India as well, he remarked, while congratulating everyone involved in the implementation of MGNREGA in the State.
He also recorded his satisfaction with the quality of works undertaken through MGNREGA.
Earlier, Harihar Poudyal, a two-time Zilla Panchayat member and member of DPC for the last ten years, shared his experience of being a member of the DPC. He commented that during the course of his tenure, DPC has emerged as an important forum in the decentralization of powers to the elected representatives of rural areas. With this development, decisions for the development of rural areas were now rising from the villages themselves and this has made the role of the DPC more important and significant, he said.
Dr. Sandeep Thambe, Special Secretary, RMDD, in his address said that creation of assets under MGNREGA should be in the land of BPL families so that they were economically benefitted in the long run besides the wages they received for the works.
While on the nature of works which can be taken up under MGNREGA, he said that water security has to be given priority in order to reach the benefit to the poor people of the village.
The District Collector, East, in his interactions with the DPC members, stressed that strict monitoring should be ensured from all levels for MGNREGA works to ensure good quality. He stressed the need for impact-based achievements rather than expenditure-based achievement.