In response to the petition filed by Akhil Bhartiya Gram Panchayat Association, whereby being aggrieved by the blatant illegalities being committed in the ‘Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act’ scheme, wherein some Gram panchayats with political connections were receiving preferential treatment by bypassing the seniority list by influencing officials to release their funds out of turn, the petitioner had moved before the Hon’ble High court for redressal of their grievances. In response thereto, the High Court had issued notices against the State of Maharashtra, Mantralaya, The Commissioner MNREGA and the Dep. CEO Zilla Parishad Gondia.
Advocate Surabhi Godbole Naidu representing the petitioner pointed out to the court that, the MNREGA Act was implemented by the Govt. of India in order to provide direct supplementary wage employment to the rural poor through public works and/or individual works. The said legislation intended to pioneer and endeavour to secure wage employment for the poor households in the rural areas as a guaranteed entitlement on this scale and with an intention to enhance the livelihood, security of the poor households and also the legislation aimed to strengthened the grass root level of the country by securing development in rural areas by empowering the various gram panchayats to carry the torch of development. In pursuance thereof, and since the gram panchayats it itself are incapacitated to obtain the materials required to facilitate and carry out the community works in their respective villages with regards to road and sewerage construction, building construction etc., the respective gram panchayats proceed to obtain the requisite materials from the various material suppliers on loan basis and proceed to carry out and implement various community works under the Act. As per the procedure followed, after completion of every work carried out by the gram panchayats, Fund Transfer Order (FTO) is scrutinized and generated by the panchayat samiti, which is further ascertained and sealed by the respective Zilla Parishads and the FTO is forwarded to the Commissioner MNREGA for his approval and disbursement.
Gold Rate
Monday 20 Jan. 2025
It was pointed out to the court that, Fund Transfer Order’s with regards to the completed work amounting to approximate 1500 Lacs was pending for disbursement to the respective gram panchayats with regards to the FTO’s that were approved since the year 2022, 2023 and 2024. As such, the respective gram panchayats could not proceed to disburse the payments to its vendors from whom the respective materials were obtained to implement the various community schemes and for no fault on the part of the material suppliers, the material suppliers were deprived of their legitimate claims from the respective gram panchayats to which they had supplied the materials. The petitioner contended that, the need to invoke the writ jurisdiction was on the premises of the fact that certain gram panchayats who had influential nexus with the MLA’s and political identities had proceeded to influence the respondents by obtaining their recommendation letters and were successful in jumping the date wise seniority list of the approved FTO’s pending since 2022 and were successful in getting their funds released against their respective FTO’s for the work completed in January-March 2024 as well and by getting their funds released out of turn by influencing their approaches.
As such, it was argued that immediately after the Loksabha elections, the funds are scheduled to be released and in pursuance of the past happenings the petitioner was confident that certain gram panchayats who had nexus with MLA’s and influential politicians would again proceed to get their FTO’s disbursed out of turn, thereby, depriving the legitimate claims of the other gram panchayats who are waiting in turn since 2022 for their respective disbursements. In the said petition, a relief has also been claimed to direct investigation as regards to the responsible officers who have acted in malicious manner by acting hand in glove with such tainted gram panchayats and also for imposition of exemplary cost upon such officers and departments.
In response to said petition the office of Zilla Parishad Gondia through its DY CEO had filed its reply and had confirmed the contentions and allegations as had been levied upon by the petitioner. The matter was subsequently listed and the State of Maharashtra had solicited time to file its reply, whereupon the Court passed the following Order “The learned Additional Government Pleader appearing for the respondent No.1 to demonstrate that the amount under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme can be released upon the recommendation of the Representative of People particularly when the issue is governed by the provisions of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 and the guidelines issued thereunder, as it could be inferred from the record that the release of the amount was at the dictate of the local Representative of People, who is not an authority under the said Act to recommend the release of the amount/grant.” The Court further clarified that affidavit filed by the Panchayat Samiti, Gondia was silent on the aforesaid issue and did not deal with it and the Court proceeded to direct the matter to be listed on 9/08/2024 and granted last chance to the State to file its reply. As such it has become incumbent upon the State to answer the specific query so questioned by the Court in its order.
Having heard the petitioner, the High Court proceeded to put the State to notice calling upon them to submit its reply to the specific query so mentioned in the order by 9th August 2024. Advocate Prakash Naidu, Joseph Bastian and Surabhi Naidu Godbole appeared for the Petitioner. Adv D P Thakre appeared for the State, Anant Dixit represented the Zilla Parishad Gondia.
