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Dr. Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Minister of Rural Development has said that the Government will ensure that rural development schemes are implemented in proper spirit and cent percent rural development funds reach villages and used for the same purpose for which it was sanctioned. He said that as the NLMs are educated, experienced and relatively free from family responsibilities, they are expected to own a moral responsibility to make rural development a success. He was inaugurating the 3-day Familiarization Workshop for National Level Monitors here today. He further said that in a country like India where 70% of the population lives in rural areas, rural development is the key to national development. The Ministry of Rural Development is implementing a number of programmes to improve the quality of life in rural areas specially targeting the large population living below poverty line. These programmes cover schemes such as food for work, employment generation, rural infrastructure development, food security, shelter and habitat development, drinking water supply, sanitation, area development etc. Exhorting the newly appointed 130 monitors, the Minister asked them to be vigilant and ensure that training needs of Swarojgaris are met and perspective planning is done for rural development works for providing rural infrastructure. They, thus, can add new dimension to rural development programmes and make these villages once again prosperous by creating awareness, bringing in transparency and by ensuring people’s participation in all rural development programmes.
Minister of State for Rural Development, Smt. Surya Kanta Patil also spoke on the occasion.
The NLMs are being given orientation and comprehensive familiarization about all the programmes of the Ministry in batches through a three day Familiarization Course. NLMs are being exposed to Rural Development Programmes, Training Schemes/mechanisms to Swarojgaris, Allocation of Funds and Financial Flow-Channels of transmission and guidelines for release of funds, Monitoring and Evaluation and role of NLMs.
With a view to ensure transparency in the implementation of Rural Development Schemes, the Ministry has initiated action to prepare a panel of National level Monitors by involving ex-servicemen, and Retired Civil Servants. These Monitors will be required to verify facts of the specific cases which may be referred to them, at short notices, and furnish feed back on the pace, quality and adherence to guidelines in respect of implementation of the schemes. They are also required to undertake periodic visits to the rural areas and to send Monitoring reports to the Ministry.
It is well recognized that the success of these programmes largely depends on the effective delivery system and efficient implementation at the grassroots level so that the programmes benefits reach the rural poor in full measures. In order to ensure this, the Ministry has evolved a comprehensive multi-level and multi-tool system of Monitoring and Evaluation for the implementation of its programmes. The NLMs are one part of this Scheme.
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