Jairam to review NREGS

BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh reached here on Friday on a three-day visit to the State. He will review implementation of MGNREGS and other Central schemes.The Minister told mediapersons after reaching here that he would review implementation of different welfare programmes in the Naxalite-affected districts. He said different development works, including construction of roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), could not be taken up in the Naxalite-hit areas because of threats from the ultras.  He said as the Centre gives around ` 6,000 crore to Orissa every year for implementation of different welfare programmes, he will review their execution.  The Union Minister will visit Ganjam and Kandhamal districts where he will review implementation of various anti-poverty programmes, including the wage employment programme under MGNREGS. Ramesh will visit some villages in Ganjam district on Saturday to see for himself the implementation of the MGNREGS.  He will hold a review meeting with seven collectors of Left-wing extremist (LWE) affected districts in Berhampur before visiting the villages. The Union Minister will leave for Kandhamal district on the same day.   He will review rehabilitation and resettlement of affected families and implementation of various Centrally- sponsored schemes funded by his Ministry  in the district.   Ramesh is scheduled to meet Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here on Sunday. The Union Minister’s visit to the State to review the implementation of the MGNREGS has assumed significance as the CBI is now probing the rural job scam in six western Orissa districts of Balangir, Kalahandi, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Nuapada and Rayagada following a Supreme Court directive on May 12.    The Opposition Congress, which has raised the issue of large-scale irregularities in the implementation of MGNREGS, has been demanding extension of CBI probe to all the 30 districts. General Secretary of the AICC Rahul Gandhi, who visited Orissa in July, had also said there were irregularities in implementation of Central schemes here, particularly MGNREGS.