The State Government, which has been carrying out a pilot project for electronic transfer of wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in Nelamangala taluk in Karnataka over the past four months, plans to implement the electronic fund management system in all districts by the end of July.
Principal Secretary for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Anita Prasad said that the Government hoped to roll out this facility by July. This month, the pilot project, which has been “successfully implemented” in Nelamangala taluk, will be extended to 48 other taluks in seven pilot districts.
The project is being carried out with the support of the National Informatics Centre. The pilot in Nelamangala taluk was able to carry out monetary transactions directly to the bank account of MNREGS workers.
According to the status report presented by officials, out of 1,175 total transactions, 1,146 were conducted successfully. Among the challenges mentioned were getting beneficiaries to open bank accounts, validating existing data and ensuring the data in the informatics system is accurate.
Speaking at the meeting, Joint Secretary (MNREGS), Government of India, D.K. Jain said the system was a “good example for e-governance and good governance”. This is transparent, effective and has accountability for all the transactions carried out in the system, he said.
