Dreze,Roy boycott NREGS function

The boycott holds significance since both Dreze and Roy are members of the Central Employment Guarantee Council CEGC,the apex body monitoring the NREGA implementation. Dreze had worked closely with Sonia and conceptualised the flagship scheme in the UPAs first term.

Bharat Nirman Rajiv Gandhi Sewa Kendra scheme allows the construction of panchayat buildings under NREGA. In August last year,Dreze and Roy had raised their concern over implementation of the scheme. Joshi,however,ignored it and announced the scheme without consulting the CEGC.

We are sorry to note that in spite of your assurances of a prompt response to these concerns,none of them have been addressed so far. It is difficult to avoid the impression that the Council is being deliberately kept in this dysfunctional state, the letter added.

Minister uses platform to give letter to PM

NEW DELHI: When Minister of State for Rural Development Sisir Adhikari,a Trinamool Congress MP,walked up to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and handed over an envelope at a function here on Tuesday to celebrate four years of the UPAs flagship NREGS,he surprised many. He is a minister and there is a proper way to do such things, said a senior official present there. The letter allegedly contained documents to establish how the Left Front government in West Bengal was misusing central schemes. ENS