Alleging large scale irregularities in the functioning of Rural Development Department, the activists of NPP led by Mr. Harsh Dev Singh, Chairman-JKNPP & former Minister held a protest demonstration outside the Office of Director Rural Development Jammu seeking a high level probe into multifarious acts of omissions and commissions highlighted by the Panthers Party from time to time. The protestors raised slogans of “Rural Development Department Hai Hai”, “Bhrashtachari officers ke khilaf karwahi karo, karwahi karo”, “MGNREGA ki liabilities clear karo, clear karo”, “MGNREGA supporting staff ko regularize karo, regularize karo”, etc. Later, a memorandum was also submitted to Director Rural Department Jammu who assured to take appropriate action with respect to the issues projected by the party activists.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh expressed grave concern over the non-payment of pending liabilities under MGNREGA for the last 2-3 years resulting in untold hardships for the affected people especially the poor labourers. He said that fiscal profligacy and extravaganza on the part of unscrupulous officers had been responsible for creation of huge liabilities which kept burgeoning year after year resulting in deprivation of poor labour class and other Panchayat level workers. He said that not only under MGNREGA, but the bad pocket grants, CDF and ‘CD + Panchayat’ funds were also reported to have been misappropriated by the reckless functionaries in various Blocks. He said that due to non appointment of ombudsmen in various Districts, there was a complete lack of transparency in the execution operations as well funds utilization.
Seeking further the regularization of MGNREGA supporting staff agitating for their rights for quite some time, Mr. Singh said that government needed to fulfill its commitments at the earliest. He said that with several MGNREGA employees being on the verge of overage, it would be a gross injustice to deprive them of their genuine claims of regularization after having availed their services for several years.
Mr. Singh called for due acknowledgement and honour of Chairpersons of CD Blocks in conformity with the position assigned to them in the ‘warrant of precedence’. He said that any dishonour of such elected representatives including Chairmen, Sarpanchs and Panchs amounted to contempt of the peoples’ mandate. He regretted that several BDOs were posing hindrances in the smooth functioning of BDCs and usurping the powers of Chairpersons notwithstanding the fact that they were supposed to act as Secretaries to Chairpersons in their respective Blocks.
Pointing towards the biased conduct of some of the officers of RDD, Mr. Singh cautioned them to act in a fair and unprejudiced manner and refrain from any partisan conduct on party lines or other extraneous considerations so as to truly make the Panchayats as instruments of rural empowerment and local self governance.
Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion included Surinder Chouhan, Karnail Singh, Yoginder Sumberia, Kaka, Sukhdev Singh, Satpaul Singh, Shamsher, Sohan Singh, Balwant, Shiv Kumar besides others.