MP govt to issue 40 lakh fresh job cards

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Gopal Bhargava said in the Assembly today that 40 lakh fresh job cards would be issued to their holders without any anomalies in them.

Replying to a calling attention notice by K N P Prajapati (Congress), the Minister said that the cards would be prepared at the Village Panchayat level while vigil would be maintained at the state level so that no anomalies are found in them.

He said that there had been no irregularities committed in the lamination work for the job cards carried out in Katni, Chhindwara, Sidhi and Betul districts. The cards in these districts had got very old and it was imperative to laminate them.

The Minister said that the administrative expenses under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) is being brought down from 6 to 2 per cent.

Mr Bhargava informed the Deputy Speaker Harvansh Singh after seeking his permission that an arrangement would be made for direct credit of labourers' wages in banks and post offices within a week.

To this, the Deputy Speaker said that the labourers are not paid wages for as long as three months in several places and they are made to visit the banks several times.