AGARTALA, August 14 (TIWN): Despite the irregular fund flow by the centre allegedly due to the mismanagement of the Public Fund Management System (PFMS) which has hit the payment of rega wages here in the state along with others the Tripura government had on August 3 received a fund of Rs. 313 crore with a total fund rested at Rs. 499.2 crore so far, said RD official. He said that the department had recently written to the Finance Ministry to get a nodal officer from the centre here in Tripura in view of getting a better communication towards simplification of the PFMS.

The Union Finance Ministry is the nodal agency for the operation of the PFMS which is currently causing problem to the transfer of wages to the bank accounts of the Rega workers.

“We have demanded for one nodal officer to get appointed for our state so that we can make a better contact with the officer in regard of getting the PFM system simplified,” said the official.

Citing an example to the problems being caused by the PFMS system in regard of wage payment, the official said that recently around Rs. 2 lakh of at least 45 labours from Tripura Jampui Hill was transferred mistakenly to the Tamil Nadu Pallaban Gramin Bank.

But it was later restored, he said. The department has sought the intervention of the Union Ministry of Rural Development to solve the REGA payment problem.  

“From the month of April this year till August of this year the release of wages remained pending, but it is expected to a take a better shape very soon,” the official said.

Earlier state RD Minister Naresh Jamatia pointed out that the problem had been created by the infrastructural problem of SBI, Mumbai but no initiative has been taken so far to resolve it.

According to the new rules under the MGNREGA Scheme and as per the PFMS the fund is now directly transferred to the Mumbai based SBI Corporate office from where the wages are being credited to the individual bank accounts of the REGA workers across the nation.

Tripura topped in implementing the system from the very grass root level to Panchayat level whereas other northeastern states had managed to implement it only up till Block level except Assam due to insurgency problem.”

He said that the Centre had unilaterally introduced the new system of devolving funds for MGNREGA wages without any consultation with the states. “It is not that the state government is opposed to the new system but there should not be such inordinate delays in payment of wages,” Jamatia stressed upon.

Besides, the official talking to the reports said that the state RD Department had taken up several initiatives to implement the MGNREGA in and around the state in a better way. As part of generating assets through the MGNREGA the department had planned to create household sanitation at 491 Gram Panchayats, 10, 000 hectare of plantation, creating water bodies on 6, 000 hectare and construction of roads.