PAC assesses NREGA as effective, to seek more govt funding
The PAC also decided to recommend linking the scheme with NDA government’s flagship programmes such as Swachh Bharat and to its initiatives in animal husbandry and agriculture sector.
Written by Liz Mathew | New Delhi | Published:October 1, 2015 1:06 am
In a significant move, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has decided to recommend allocation of more funds, make Aadhar card or NPR compulsory and to link more flagship programmes of the Centre with the NREGA scheme, sources said.
The sources added that at a PAC meeting on Monday, which was attended by four BJP MPs, the NREGA was assessed as as an “effective scheme” in providing livelihood for the poor in the rural sector and guaranteed them minimum wages. Notably, the scheme was once described by PM Narendra Modi as the “living monument” of the previous UPA government’s failures.
The PAC also decided to recommend linking the scheme with NDA government’s flagship programmes such as Swachh Bharat and to its initiatives in animal husbandry and agriculture sector. The recommendations were unanimous and the report will be tabled in Parliament during the Winter Session, sources added.
“The meeting suggested that the job guarantee scheme should be linked to Aadhar/NPR because it will help to avoid duplication of job cards,” a source said. “As the scheme has been assessed as effective in providing livelihood, the PAC decided to propose an increase in funding,” he added. In his budget speech, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had hiked the scheme’s allocation from Rs 34,000 crore to Rs 34,699 crore and promised to enhance the allocation by another Rs 5,000 crore if there is tax buoyancy.
The meeting was chaired by senior Congress leader and PAC chairman K V Thomas and was also attended by BJD’s Bhartruhari Mehtab, AIADMK’s P Venugopal, Shiv Sena’s Gajanan Chandrakant Kiritkar, besides BJP MPs.