MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently directed the secretary of the rural development department and the district collectors to form separate wings to monitor and ensure strict compliance with guidelines for the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in Tamil Nadu.
A Bench of justices D Krishnakumar and L Victoria Gowri said the secretary should make sure that the overall progress of the scheme could be viewed in the public portal 'NREGAsoft' created by the Union Ministry of Rural Development, to ensure transparency in monitoring and accountability in the implementation of the scheme. Panchayats should give priority to planting saplings and deepening water bodies in the villages through the scheme, the judges opined.
They further directed the district collectors of respective districts to conduct periodical inspections and take action if any deviation is noted. They also wanted the collectors to publicise the scheme among the public and to form a separate wing to monitor the implementation of the scheme.
"Wage payments for the workers engaged in MGNREG Scheme should be made through the Aadhar Based Payment System (ABPS). Uploading of e-MR attendance of workers through the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) App by taking photographs should be strictly implemented," they told the collectors.
The directions were issued on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Manikandan in 2022, alleging certain irregularities in the implementation of the scheme in the Vasudevanallur panchayat union in Tenkasi. Though the authorities filed a counter affidavit refuting the allegations, the judges observed that the Court has come across various instances where such allegations have surfaced in connection with the implementation of the MGNREG scheme. Besides directing the Tenkasi collector to inquire into Manikandan's complaint, the judges issued the above directions for maintaining transparency in the execution of the scheme.