<p>The State government has urged the Centre, seeking to bring laying of concrete roads in rural areas under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).<br /><br /></p>.<p>Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Jagadish Shettar told mediapersons on Tuesday that he recently urged Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh to take steps to amend the MGNREGS guidelines.<br /><br />“Concrete roads are durable. They can withstand heavy rains. Asphalted roads are damaged soon after a spell of heavy rain and people have to put up with bad roads until the government repairs them,” the minister said.<br /><br />Denying the allegation that the RDPR ministry failed to utilise funds allocated under the scheme this year, Shettar said it is demand-based and the department doesn’t have to meet any target. In the current fiscal, the department has spent Rs 1,120 crore as against the total allocation of Rs 2,000 crore to the State under the scheme. <br /><br />Besides, the department has cancelled about 10 lakh bogus job cards in the previous financial year and 300 criminal cases have been booked against the errant officials, he added. <br /><br />He also said there are no takers for the scheme in districts like Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada. <br /><br />The daily wagers earn nearly Rs 300 a day if they work in towns. So they do not work under the MGNREG scheme, for a meagre Rs 125 a day.<br /><br />Shettar said the Centre has not released funds under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in the last two years despite repeated requests, forcing the State to spend from its exchequer for the repair of rural roads.<br /><br /></p>
<p>The State government has urged the Centre, seeking to bring laying of concrete roads in rural areas under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).<br /><br /></p>.<p>Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Jagadish Shettar told mediapersons on Tuesday that he recently urged Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh to take steps to amend the MGNREGS guidelines.<br /><br />“Concrete roads are durable. They can withstand heavy rains. Asphalted roads are damaged soon after a spell of heavy rain and people have to put up with bad roads until the government repairs them,” the minister said.<br /><br />Denying the allegation that the RDPR ministry failed to utilise funds allocated under the scheme this year, Shettar said it is demand-based and the department doesn’t have to meet any target. In the current fiscal, the department has spent Rs 1,120 crore as against the total allocation of Rs 2,000 crore to the State under the scheme. <br /><br />Besides, the department has cancelled about 10 lakh bogus job cards in the previous financial year and 300 criminal cases have been booked against the errant officials, he added. <br /><br />He also said there are no takers for the scheme in districts like Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada. <br /><br />The daily wagers earn nearly Rs 300 a day if they work in towns. So they do not work under the MGNREG scheme, for a meagre Rs 125 a day.<br /><br />Shettar said the Centre has not released funds under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in the last two years despite repeated requests, forcing the State to spend from its exchequer for the repair of rural roads.<br /><br /></p>
