Lens on non-performing MGNREG field assistants in Telangana

Hyderabad: As some of the field assistants of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREG) Scheme are not taking interest in providing 100 person days to the job cardholders, the Rural Development Department has decided to take action against them. 

Commissioner of Rural Development Neethu Kumari Prasad has given instructions to the district level officers in this regard. She said the applications of field assistants, who failed to provide 100 person days in the previous year, should not be considered for renewal. 

The officials said the government had fixed certain minimum performance parameters for the field assistant for every year in the habitations of Gram Panchayat. The performance of field assistants would be evaluated every year for considering their application for renewal of contract.

They said after detailed examination of the performance of each field assistant in the previous year, it was noticed that in some GPs sufficient number of works were not launched to provide employment to the labourers, due to which the wage seekers entitlements were denied. 

Minimum performance parameters are to provide wage employment to all labour households whoever demand, provide 100 days of employment to at least 60 per cent of registered job cardholders, update all 100 per cent job cards in GP and update all GP registers, ensure proper maintenance of muster rolls at work site, and to ensure 100 per cent distribution of pay slips to the wage seekers who have worked under EGS. 

After the examination of the performance the officials categorised the villages into three categories like list 1, 2 and 3. The GPs which have achieved 7,000 person days had been put in list - 1, the GPs where the person days were between 6,999 and 3,000 are put in the list - 2 and the rest in the list - 3. 

The Field Assistant working in List – 1 GP is entitled for renewal of contract for the next year. The officials shall renew the contract duly examining the other performance parameters. The application for renewal of contract of field assistants whose performance is above 3,000 person days and below 6,999 person days during the previous year should be rejected. The application of field assistant working in list- 3 GP for renewal of contract shall also be rejected.

The field assistants whose contract is renewed in the next year should ensure proper maintenance of muster rolls at work site, 100 per cent distribution of pay slips to the wage seekers who have worked under EGS, there should be no adverse observations under social audit, which include bogus or benami musters, failure to launch works, taking bribes from wage seekers or beneficiaries, connivance with TA for wrong measurements, provide wage employment to SCs and STs on priority or at least on a par with others. The district officials were told to remove the field assistants whose performance was not satisfactory and to update the data of them by September 15.