Recruitment under Department of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, J&K

Recruitment under Department of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, J&K

Engagement of Ombudsman under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act-2005 (MGNREGA).

Government Order No: 89-RD & PR of 2018 Dated: 10.04.2018

As recommended by the Selection Committee constituted vide Government Order No 857-GAD of 2016 dated 05.08.2016, in pursuance of provisions of Section 27(1) of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA, sanction is hereby accorded to the engagement of following 11 candidates as Ombudsman under the Mahatma Gandhi, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act-2005 (MGNREGA), in the districts indicated against each

The candidates engaged as mentioned above sha II report to Secretary to Government, Department of Rural Development & PR Civil Secretariat Jammu within a period of 21 days from issuance of this order In case, of failure to join within the stipulated period of time, his engagement shall be deemed have been cancelled without any further notice.

The above engagement shall be purely as per guidelines of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act -2005, instructions on Ombudsman (as revised on 16.01.2014), the important aspects of which are reproduced below:

(1) POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

(1.1) The Ombudsman shall have power to:

1. receive complaints of Chapter IV (Procedure for redressal of grievances) from MGNREGA workers and others on any matters specified in clause 9 either at office or in the field during a field inspection.
2. consider such complaints and pass awards within 30 days from the date of receipt of complaint. For this purpose, he may require the MGNREGA Authority complained against to provide any information or furnish certified copies of any document relating to the subject matter of the complaint which is or is alleged to be in his possession; provided that in the event of failure of such authority to comply with the requisition without any sufficient cause, the Ombudsman may, if he deems fit, draw the inference that the information, if provided or copies if furnished, would be unfavourable to the concerned MGNREGA Authority.
3. issue direction for conducting spot investigation.
4. initiate proceedings suo motu in the event of any circumstances arising within his jurisdiction that may cause any grievance including on issues related to delayed payment of wages or non-payment of unemployment allowance as recorded in the MIS.
5. use the services of experts for facilitating the disposal of the complaint. State Government may formulate suitable guidelines in this regard.

direct redressal, disciplinary and corrective actions.

1. report his/her awards to the District Programme Coordination (DPC) of the District and the Secretary, State Nodal Department. Wherever Ombudsman feels the need to do so he/she may mark a copy to the Chief Secretary. The report shall specially highlight cases where action needs to be taken against erring MGNREGA functionaries for their failure to redress the grievance. The report will be accompanied with primary evidence needed to initiate action against the delinquent persons.
2. in any proceeding before the Ombudsman, if the facts reveal the case of illegal gratification, bribery or misappropriation and the Ombudsman is satisfied that the case is fit for further investigation by an appropriate court of law, the same shall be referred by the Ombudsman to the authority competent to sanction criminal prosecution of the persons involved in the case who shall take action in accordance with prescribed procedures.
3. the awards of Ombudsman would be strictly within the purview and confines of the MGNREGA act, the rules and the Schemes formulated there under and the operational guidelines issued by the Government of India from time to time.

(2) COVERAGE OF THE OMBUDSMAN UNDER RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005: Ombudsman shall be covered under the Right to Information Act, 2005. Nodal department of the State Government shall notify Public Information Officer and Appellate Authority for this purpose.

(3) The Ombudsman shall be responsible for:

1. ensuring proper processing of complaints and grievances made or reported to him/her.
2. maintaining confidentiality of any information or document coming into his/her knowledge or possession in the course of discharging his/her duties and not disclose such information or document to any person except with the consent of the person furnishing such information or document; provided that nothing in this clause shall prevent the Ombudsman from disclosing information or documents furnished by a party in a complaint to the other party or parties, to the extent considered by him to be reasonably required to comply with the principles of natural justice and fair play in the proceedings.
3. sending a quarterly report to the Chief Secretary and Secretary, State Nodal Department recommending appropriate action. The report shall specially highlight cases where action needs to be taken against erring MGNREGA functionaries for their failure to redress grievances. The report will be accompanied by primary evidence needed to initiate action against the delinquent persons.
4. furnishing a report every year containing a general review of activities of the office of the Ombudsman during the preceding financial year to the Chief Secretary and the Secretary, State Nodal Department along with such other information as may be considered necessary by him/her. In the annual report, the Ombudsman, on the basis of grievances handled by him/her, will review the quality of the working of the MGNREGA authorities and make recommendations to improve implementation of MGNREGA. The report shall be displayed on the MGNREGA website.
5. compiling a list of ‘awards’ of Ombudsman between April and March of each financial year in respect of every MGNREGA Authority complained against and report it to the Chief Secretary of the State and the State Nodal Department. Tax of awards shall also be displayed on the MGNREGA website by the State Nodal Department

(4) REMUNERATION:

1. subject of any notification by the State Government, the Ombudsman shall be allowed compensation, in the form of the fee, of Rs. 1000/- (one thousand) per sitting with maximum upper limit of Rs. 20,000/- (twenty thousand) per month.
2. sitting means per day functioning, irrespective of number of cases handled and its duration in terms of working hours. A sitting could be for a part of a day also. All sitting should be properly documented and should be justified by the work discharged. The frequency of sitting by Ombudsman shall be the Ombudsman taking into be fixed. The place of sitting may be decided by the Ombudsman taking into consideration the convenience of MGNREGA workers concerned.
3. state Government may pay an additional amount of Ombudsman over and above the sitting fee prescribed by the Ministry from its own financial resources, either with regard to the sitting fee or the maximum upper limit.
4. sitting fee and allowances shall be paid timely by the State Government.
5. wherever Ombudsman wants to visit any part of the district for the purpose of conducting field enquiry, the DPC shall provide suitable transport facility.

(5) TA/DA AND TRANSPORT:

TA/DA at rates admissible to class-I officers of the State Government may be allowed. In case no such uniform rates are available, the State Government may fix rates for the purpose. State Government may provide a vehicle from its local pool to an Ombudsman for official purpose as per need. However, no new vehicle can be purchased for the use of Ombudsman from MGNREGA fund. In case of travel by Ombudsman in his/her own or hired vehicle for official purpose, district concerned may reimburse the cost of travel, at the rates fixed by the State Government.

(6) LOCATION OF OFFICE AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT:

1. a) The Office of MGNREGA Ombudsman shall be located at the District Headquarters. Technical and administrative support will be provided by the DRDA or any other body specified by the State Government in this behalf. All necessary support to enable the Ombudsman to carry out the assigned functions, including support staff, office equipments, complaint box, and telephone helpline etc, shall be provided to the Ombudsman by the district authority specified by the State Government. The State Government shall provide necessary legal support to cases in Courts relating to actions taken in official capacity by the Ombudsman.

(7) TENURE:

The tenure of Ombudsman shall be 02 (two) years extendable not more than twice by one year each based on a performance appraisal process or till the incumbent attains the age of 68 (sixty eight) years, whichever is earlier. There shall be no reappointment.

By order of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir