Local monitoring missing in rural development projects -Governance Now

Local monitoring missing in rural development projects

State and district-level vigilance and monitoring committees not meeting since formation

Brajesh Kumar | March 24, 2010

State and district vigilance and monitoring committees, formed by the rural development ministry in August last year to keep a watch on the effective implementation of all the flagship schemes of the ministry have not been meeting since their formation.

Members of parliament (MPs), who are the nominated chairmen of these committees, have brought this to the notice of the rural development minister CP Joshi.

“The issues was raised in the performance review committee meeting held by the ministry last week and the rural development minister directed the states to hold these meetings quarterly, failing which funds released to the districts could be withheld ,” said an official in the rural development ministry.

The RD ministry formed these committees with a view to ensure the quality of expenditure, particularly, in the context of large public funds being spent under all the programmes of the Ministry of Rural Development.

While the state vigilance and monitoring committee is headed by the state rural development minister, the district vigilance and monitoring committee is headed by the area MP. The district magistrates are the members of the district vigilance monitoring committee.

These Committees are expected to keep a watch on the implementation of the programmes as per the prescribed procedures and Guidelines.

The objectives include providing a crucial role for the MPs and elected representatives of the people in state legislatures and panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) in the implementation of the Rural Development programmes and to put in place a mechanism to monitor the execution of the schemes in the most effective manner and within the given time frame so that public funds are put to optimal use and programme benefits flow to the rural poor in full measure.

These Committees are also to effectively liaise and coordinate with the ministry of rural development and state governments.

The Ministry can withhold releases to districts, which do not hold regular meetings of Vigilance and Monitoring Committees.

Comments

Other News

`Low-cost Carboplatin boosts survival in aggressive breast cancer`

Adding the inexpensive chemotherapy drug Carboplatin to standard treatment significantly improves survival in patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a clinical trial at the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) in Mumbai has found. TNBC is an aggressive form of breast cancer and lacks

Recalling the ‘start-up’ days of a global security services firm

A quiet transformation began in Patna in 1973 when a young journalist, Dr. R.K. Sinha, inspired by the heartfelt appeal of social reformer Jayaprakash Narayan to support ex-servicemen, made a bold decision to leave his Rs 250-a-month job that led to the creation of Security and Intelligence Services (SIS).

Financing India’s Green Shift: The Rise of ESG Investing

The environment is important for everything in our lives, whether at home, in school, or any other place of work and engagement. After all, given the concerns the planet is witnessing, finding solutions is becoming tougher. In India right now, as in any other part of the world, even though there is enough

India moves up to 9th position globally in forest area

India has achieved a significant milestone in global environmental conservation, moving up to the 9th position in terms of total forest area globally, as per the Global Forest Resources Assessment (GFRA) 2025, released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Bali. Union Minis

“Game” of cricket: Governance lessons from India’s favourite sport

India’s cricket journey is more than a record of sporting triumphs; it is a live case study in strategy, incentives, and equilibrium: the very foundations of Game Theory. As India prepares for its eight-match white-ball series against Australia, the world’s most-watched rivalry will again unfol

In this year of extreme rainfall, climate change has amplified deluge

Southwest Monsoon 2025 recently concluded with ‘above-normal’ rainfall to the tune of 108% of the long-period average (LPA). This is second consecutive year in the last decade to record above normal rains. Climate change has a critical role in driving the rainfall on the higher side, according