Srinagar: Secretary, Rural Development Department and Panchayati Raj, Mohammad Aijaz Asad, Wednesday chaired a review meeting to assess implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) across the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.
The review focused on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as employment generation, Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS) coverage, timely wage payments, social audits and use of digital monitoring tools.
The meeting was attended by Director RDD Kashmir, Shabir Hussain Bhat, Director RDD Jammu, Shahnaz Akhter, Additional Secretary RD&PR, Waseem Raja, SE REW Kashmir, Aamir Ali, SE REW Jammu, Rajesh Agastam, all Assistant Commissioners Development (ACDs), Executive Engineers (REW), District Resource Persons and Director, Social Audit.
The Secretary took stock of the Person Days (PDs) generated up to June 2024, calling for intensified efforts to enhance employment generation aligned with the local demand patterns. He reiterated the need to eliminate delays in wage disbursal, instructing districts to ensure 100% timely payments and prompt settlement of any delay compensation dues.
Reviewing rollout of the Panchayat Nirnay App, a digital tool designed for real-time geo-tagged reporting and Gram Sabha documentation, the Secretary urged for swift implementation of Phase II to cover all 4291 Gram Panchayats. He directed the officials to maximize utilization of the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) for attendance tracking.
To strengthen on-ground monitoring, Aijaz Asad instructed the District Programme Coordinators, Additional DPCs and Block Development Officers to increase the field visits for real-time assessment of worksites. He emphasized the need for closing the gap in Aadhaar seeding and ABPS coverage to ensure direct benefit transfer to all eligible workers.
Highlighting the critical role of MGNREGA in supporting the rural livelihoods, the Secretary asked the districts to prioritize works in agriculture and allied sectors, ensuring that expenditures contribute meaningfully to economic resilience.
He made a pointed call for greater accountability at the district level, stating that ACDs serve as the nodal officers for all Rural Development schemes in their districts. “Responsibility of timely monitoring and supervision lies squarely with the ACDs,” he stated while emphasizing full ownership of planning, monitoring and execution.
Aijaz Asad emphasized that mere completion of projects does not constitute a success story. He urged the officers to focus on initiative-driven governance, showcasing innovations that can earn national-level recognition. Citing the Unnati scheme, he encouraged the districts to help transition of MGNREGA workers from unskilled to skilled labor.
To bolster institutional oversight, the Secretary directed the Directors of RDD Kashmir and Jammu to prepare district-wise inspection calendars, ensuring 2–3 surprise inspections per month with comprehensive evaluations of block-level performance.
The Secretary also reviewed the status of social audits at the UT level. He emphasized the need to build institutional capacity and directed the organization of divisional and district-level workshops to promote awareness and best practices in auditing.
Welcoming newly posted officers to the department, Secretary Aijaz Asad stressed the importance of teamwork, transparency and collaborative effort in advancing the goals of rural development and people-centric governance.
Earlier, Additional Secretary, Waseem Raja, gave a detailed presentation on the KPIs and current implementation status under MGNREGA.
