Bihar rural development minister Shravan Kumar has directed officials in Buxar to complete pending rural housing projects within a week, while ordering faster disposal of social audit cases and timely release of wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The directions were issued during a review meeting of rural development schemes at the district guest house on Wednesday.
The minister reviewed the implementation of rural housing schemes, MGNREGA, VB-G RAM-G, the Lohiya Swachh Bihar Abhiyan, Jeevika and social audit-related matters. He asked officials to ensure that eligible beneficiaries received benefits under rural development schemes without delay.
While reviewing housing schemes, Kumar directed officials to arrange land on priority for landless beneficiaries. He also ordered the completion of pending houses under the Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana without further delay and asked officials to ensure payment of wages due under MGNREGA.
The minister ordered a special inquiry into cases where people found eligible during a survey had been left out of the beneficiaries’ list. He directed officials to take action according to rules so that eligible people were not deprived of government housing benefits.
The instructions place land access, beneficiary selection and completion of sanctioned houses at the centre of the district’s housing delivery process. The review also linked housing implementation with wage payments, since MGNREGA labour payments can affect the progress of rural construction and the income of households involved in public works.
Kumar directed officials to dispose of all pending social audit cases within a month. Social audits are intended to examine the implementation of public schemes and provide a mechanism for identifying irregularities or excluded beneficiaries. The minister also stressed transparency, accountability and timely implementation across the department’s programmes.
During the review of VB-G RAM-G, officials were asked to prioritise construction of Anganwadi centres and rural haats, along with plantation work. Kumar also stressed the need for timely payment to forest caretakers engaged in plantation activities.
Under the Lohiya Swachh Bihar Abhiyan, the minister directed officials to make non-functional community toilets operational at the earliest. He also asked Jeevika officials to improve the marketing of products made by women’s groups and identify suitable markets to help increase their income.
The meeting was attended by the Rajpur and Dumraon MLAs, the deputy development commissioner, the district public relations officer, the DRDA director, block development officers, programme officers and other officials. The one-week deadline for pending rural housing works and the one-month deadline for social audit cases now form the immediate implementation schedule set out at the district review.
