Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Abdul Haq today chaired the 5th State Employment Guarantee Council (SEGC) meeting and recommended various measures for effective implementation of MGNREGA in the state.The Council recommended 10% hike in the remuneration of MGNREGA contractual staff and also recommended to focus on empowerment of women by improving their livelihood.Council recommended grant of ex-gratia upto Rs 5 lakh to the MGNREGA workers and contractual staff, in the event of death during the execution of work, Rs 2 lakh in the event of permanent disability and Rs 50000 in case of partial disability while the department will pay all the expenses of treatment of the workers as per actual.It was decided in the meeting that the technical sanctions will precede administrative approvals to ease out the sanction of projects.The council approved the authority of passing bills of works by various officials under MGNREGA. The council increased the authority of sanction of AE upto Rs 3 lakh, for AEE upto Rs 5 lakh, for Xen upto Rs 10 lakh and for SE Rs 10 lakh and above.
The council also recommended establishment of independent directorate of Social Audit for MGNREGA.The council recommended that in convergence with SRLM and other departments for sustainable livelihood, the focus areas should be Orchard development, Mushroom cultivation, medicinal plants, packaging and marketing of apples, cherries and other fruits, bee keeping, waste land development besides 100 percent mapping and inclusion of SC/ST, handicapped, transgender and other marginalized communities with special focus on women workers under MGNREGA.Prioritizing the involvement of women in the scheme, It was decided in the meeting that the job cards will also be provided to single women and other vulnerable sections of the society and the first day of the month will be designated as Rozgar Diwas and Mahila Mazdoor Adhikar Diwas .The meeting also recommended taking positive steps to encourage appointment of Mahila mates and target inclusion of women workers in the muster rolls especially in works such as tree plantation, pond construction and housing construction under PMAY besides encouraging all women friendly sites.
Council also recommended to union Ministry of Rural Development to include Waste Management and snow clearance in schedule of works under MGNREGA.The council also recommended the implementation of Electronic Fund Management System (E-FMS).The meeting also decided to formulate a Major IEC strategy to sensitize the people about the scheme and to create awareness among masses. The department will also involve youth in communication strategy by holding sports events under MGNREGA.The council also recommended framing of Grievance Redressal Rules, Delay Compensation Rules and un-employment Allowance Rules.The meeting also recommended commissioning of research studies for evaluating different aspects of implementation of MGNREGA in consultation with various universities.