Finger key to job fortune

Finger key to job fortune
By SANTOSH K. KIRO | www.telegraphindia.com

Ranchi, Sept. 4: The Centre's flagship rural job scheme is slowly but steadily raising a toast to transparency in Jharkhand.
To clip wings of unscrupulous middlemen, who often exploited MGNREGS workers' ignorance about banking practices to pocket a large part of their earnings, the state has brought banks closer to villages by opening money kiosks where only fingerprints act as passwords.
The ambitious project, launched in February, aims to connect all the 4,564 gram panchayats across the state through these banking outlets. So far, the system is receiving overwhelming response in 212 panchayat areas.
"Many in my village have been victims of corrupt middlemen. They charged arbitrary commission to help us withdraw money from our savings accounts in post office or banks," said Meena Devi, an MGNREGS labourer at Kamda village of Kanke, some 20km from the state capital.
The 30-year-old was among a few dozen workers who swamped the Pragya Kendra at Jaipur, near Kamda, to withdraw wages, deposited by the government with State Bank of India, last month.
The outlet is like a window of a designated bank at the Pragya Kendra in block headquarters and is manned by a youth appointed by the gram panchayat, explained state MGNREGS commissioner A.K. Singh.
"Apart from ensuring transparency in disbursing wages, we have also succeeded in paying labourers within 15 days of joining work," Singh said, adding that the remaining 4,352 gram panchayats would adopt the system within this fiscal.
The money kiosks, the state believes, would go a long way to improve implementation of the Centre's flagship job scheme in Jharkhand that has been at the receiving end of severe criticism for allowing middlemen to call the shots.
Earlier, MGNREGS workers had to share their savings account details with gram panchayat officials and middlemen, who often took advantage of gullible villagers.
"The same won't happen any longer. The banks scan and collect fingerprints while opening accounts of rural job scheme workers. These act as passwords unique to every villager. So far, the government, in association with banks, has opened eight lakh accounts across the state," Singh said.
Amir Akhtar, who mans the SBI kiosk at Burhu gram panchayat in Kanke, was upbeat about the facility. "On an average, I pay Rs 10,000 as wages directly to villagers through my banking outlet. On important occasions, I make payments of up to Rs 40,000 a day," he said.
The good news is that villagers are also discovering the benefits of a bank account. Apart from withdrawing money deposited as wages, they are also depositing money in their accounts.
The proximity of these kiosks to their village has helped. "I did not have a bank account earlier as I would have to go to Kanke block, about 7km away, to open an account," said Chauri Devi (30). "But, now, I have an account at this banking outlet and I can deposit my money too," added the resident of Barhu gram panchayat.
That the money kiosks have had a good beginning was highlighted by the reaction of a resident of Jaipur gram panchayat in Kanke. "Funds for Indira Awas Yojna is distributed by the block authorities manually and hence there are large-scale irregularities. If the government issues cheques that could be deposited at these banking outlets, this problem could be tackled," opined Kamal Minz, who had come to withdraw money.

This is good news.
Thumbs up on this method to fight corruption