Govt withholds salaries of ACDs over poor MGNREGA performance

SRINAGAR: The government of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday withheld the salaries of four Additional District Programme Coordinators (ADPCs)/Assistant Commissioners Development (ACDs) over poor performance in implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act during the first quarter of the financial year 2026-27.
According to the order issued by the Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Mohammad Aijaz Asad, a review of district-wise performance under MGNREGA revealed “extremely poor and negligible achievement” in generating person-days against the approved labour budget targets in certain districts.
The order stated that despite repeated directions and monitoring by the department for timely execution of works, demand registration and enhancement of employment generation under MGNREGA, some districts failed to show satisfactory progress, indicating a lack of effective supervision, monitoring and field-level implementation.
The officials whose salaries have been withheld included Muzaffar Ahmad Sheikh of Shopian, Abdul Rashid Ganaie of Kupwara, Manoj Kumar of Kishtwar and Rafiq Ahmad of Samba.
The government said the salaries of the concerned officers would remain withheld with immediate effect till further orders and subject to improvement in performance under the scheme.
The Secretary said the department is committed towards ensuring effective implementation of MGNREGA and accountability at every level.
“MGNREGA is a flagship rural livelihood programme aimed at providing guaranteed wage employment to rural households. Any laxity in implementation, delay in execution of works or failure to achieve approved labour budget targets defeats the objective of the scheme and directly impacts the rural communities,” maintained the Secretary.
He said district and field-level officers have been repeatedly directed to improve the planning, execution and monitoring of works to ensure timely employment generation.
“We expect all implementing agencies and officers to work with seriousness and dedication. Strict action will be taken wherever negligence or poor performance is found. The focus of the department remains on strengthening the rural livelihoods and ensuring that benefits of the scheme reach deserving people on time,” he added.
The order further directed all the District Programme Coordinators, who are Deputy Commissioners, to closely monitor the implementation of MGNREGA and furnish fortnightly progress reports to the Administrative Department. It warned that any non-compliance would invite disciplinary proceedings under the relevant provisions of the J&K Civil Services Rules and other applicable laws.