No Ombudsman appointed
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, July 22 2017: Despite the steps taken up by Chief Minister N Biren Singh to eradicate corruption from the State including the establishment of an Anti Corruption Cell, no Ombudsman has been appointed for supervising the various schemes take up for the welfare of he people living in villages and remote parts of the State .

People can generally approach the ombudsman regarding any complaints related to various schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), Prime Minister Awaj Yojna (Housing for all) and Individual Household Latrine (IHHL) under Swach Bharat Mission .

The ombudsman has the authority to take up necessary actions regarding the public's grievances as well as give instruction to the police to register FIRs in certain cases .

According to a source, an ombudsman is required for every village under the MGNREGA though in Manipur, none of the districts, bar Tamenglong, have a single ombudsman .

The ombudsmen were appointed for a period of two years from June 2 of 2014 and as such, their term expired on June 1, last year .

It pointed out that although no ombudsman was appointed, a report submitted to the Ministry of Rural Development had mentioned that the ombudsmen are performing their duties diligently in their respective districts .

According to the rule, as soon as the two year term of an ombudsman expires, a new ombudsman is appointed or the same ombudsman's term is extended for a period of one year for a maximum of two times .

As per the aforementioned rule, the term for ombudsmen of the State were given an extension from June 2, 2017 till June 1 this year.

The source further pointed out that the order for extending the service term for the ombudsmen was issued by the Secretariat, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department (State Level Monitoring Cell) on May 20 .

'As such even if the service term of the ombudsmen were extended, the number of working days received by the ombudsmen is just 10 days", it added .

The source further alleged that the State Government's action regarding the extension of the terms of the ombudsmen who are supposed to supervise the grievances of the people regarding the schemes taken up at the grassroots level, clearly show the State Government's desire to eradicate the ombudsmen system.

In States where Lokpal/Lok Ayukta are not implemented due to the Government's lack of political will, ombudsmen act as an Anti Corruption cell for the people of villages and remote places .

The salary and expenditures of the ombudsmen are not borne by the States but are handled by the District Rural Development Authority (DRDA) from the office expenditure funds (6 percent) sanctioned by the Ministry .

Many are also questioning if the State Government is not taking up any step to appoint the ombudsmen out of fear that it might expose many corrupt practices and officials.

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