my uttarakhand news Bureau
Dehradun, 17 Dec: The Bharatiya Janata Party has dismissed the opposition claims in respect of the restructuring of the MGNREGA scheme and the surrounding grants. In a statement, BJP State media in-charge Manveer Chauhan claimed that the Congress is trying to spread confusion in this respect. He asserted that that for Himalayan states like Uttarakhand, the central government’s share of funding in the scheme will remain at 90 per cent. Furthermore, Chauhan described the Congress’s allegations of corruption in the state as baseless and questioned why, if land laws were already sufficient, thousands of hectares of land were allowed to fall under illegal occupation.
Chauhan also stated that the changes made to the MGNREGA scheme by the Modi government are in line with public sentiment and aimed at accelerating development in rural areas. He noted that the Union Ministry of Agriculture is striving to make the scheme more effective and practical, and, therefore, it should not be viewed through a political lens. He asserted that following the current reforms, the employment guarantee has been increased from 100 days to 125 days. In addition to switching to weekly payments, new provisions have been introduced to prevent the misuse of allocated funds. He termed the opposition’s allegations regarding a reduction in central grants as misleading. He clarified that in Uttarakhand and all other Himalayan states, the funding ratio between the Centre and the State under MGNREGA will continue to be 90:10 as before. Consequently, the people of Uttarakhand stand to benefit the most from these changes.
The BJP leader categorically rejected the corruption allegations levelled by Congress State President Godiyal, remarking that repeating a lie a hundred times does not make it the truth. He asserted that these baseless accusations are being made solely for political motives. He maintained that Chief Minister Dhami’s government is working on a policy of zero tolerance against corruption. He pointed out that hundreds of officials and employees, including high-ranking IAS and IFS officers involved in irregularities, have been sent behind bars by the BJP Government in the state. He claimed that no one in the state can even think of escaping after committing corruption, a fact that the public recognises well. He insisted that all the tendering processes are being conducted with complete transparency and in accordance with the rules. He alleged that the Congress does not want the state to develop rapidly and is attempting to obstruct progress by making false claims. Their goal, he said, is to tarnish the state’s image through a politics of lies and confusion, but the aware citizens of the state recognise the opposition’s intentions and such attempts will not succeed.
Taking the Congress to task over the issue of demography and land occupation, Chauhan asked why no action was taken if laws against “land jihad” existed previously. He questioned who provided protection to those involved and how thousands of hectares of land ended up under illegal possession. He claimed that the public understands the intentions of the Congress very well and will provide a fitting response.
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