Author name: OnlineAge

AGARTALA : Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has transformed the Northeast from a “no-hope” zone to an attractive destination in the past 12 years. Addressing the ‘Jan Kalyan Shivir’ to mark PM Modi’s 12 years in office at Rabindra Bhavan, the Union minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways said the northeast was known for violence, kidnapping, blockade and shooting before Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. “A sense of security was missing before 2014, and the Northeast was infamously tagged as a disturbed area. Now, the region is witnessing a sea change in all-round growth with peace returning. At least 10,000 armed insurgents have shunned the path of violence to usher in peace,” he said. Asserting that PM Modi has transformed the northeast from a “no-hope zone to an attractive destination”, he said peace has paved the way for faster development in the region to meet the people’s aspirations. “Under PM Modi, development works—whether infrastructure, railway connectivity or communication—are proceeding at the highest ever speed. Modiji has made it mandatory for his cabinet colleagues to regularly visit the northeast to expedite development,” he said. Sonowal also claimed that PM Modi removed the distance between Delhi and the northeast by boosting connectivity and communication. He said Modi ji is the only Prime Minister since independence who pushed for financial inclusion drive across the nation, resulting in the opening of 61 crore bank accounts. “Due to the success of the financial inclusion drive, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) is possible to transfer money to the accounts of crores of beneficiaries. This ensures transparency and accountability of the Modi government,” he said. “Tripura has been receiving the benefit of the double-engine government during the past 8 years. The connectivity – be it railway or airway, the state witnessed a massive change. The state is now well connected with first-class train service and air service, accelerating the development process,” he stated. (Source: PTI)      

GUWAHATI : Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said 21 illegal immigrants were prevented from entering India by the state police and the BSF. “In an excellent joint effort by @assampolice and @BSF_India, 21 infiltrators were swiftly identified and prevented from entering into India,” Sarma said in a post on X. He, however, did not share details about the operation. “Safeguarding borders, strengthening security… Our multi-pronged approach of safeguarding our border continues,” Sarma said. Assam’s Sribhumi, Cachar, Dhubri and South Salmara-Mankachar districts share 267.5 km of international border with Bangladesh. (Source: PTI)

GUWAHATI : Assam’s Social Audit Unit, set up to ensure transparency and accountability in rural development schemes, has faced severe operational and governance challenges, according to a CAG report. The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on ‘Local Bodies’ for the period ending March 2024 highlighted that the registration of SAU expired long back due to infrequent governing Body meetings that hindered budget approvals and annual account certifications. “The registration of the SAU under the Societies Act remained invalid for almost five years, since December 2019. Gross shortfall in holding of governing body meetings implies the deficiency in monitoring at the government level,” it added. The CAG recommended that governing body meetings should be held at stipulated intervals to ensure approval of the budget and annual accounts of SAU, and to facilitate effective monitoring of the activities. It also pointed out that the manpower policy of SAU is yet to be firmed up, even after the same had been proposed in August 2017 and reviewed by the Finance Department. “The SAU operates with a significant manpower shortage (43 per cent overall vacancy), particularly among key field personnel, impacting its ability to meet social audit targets and conduct timely audits,” it added. The CAG suggested that the manpower policy should be finalised and that initiatives should be taken for the recruitment of resource persons in requisite numbers. Besides, the Code of Ethics were not introduced, though it is required under the Auditing Standards of Social Audit. It said that the Code of Ethics should be developed and deployed by the SAU for social audit facilitators. “The State Employment Guarantee Council (SEGC) at the state level had not monitored the action taken by the state government on social audit reports and action-taken reports. SAU did not submit quarterly reports in the format specified by the Ministry of Rural Development to the principal accountant general/accountant general,” it said. The impact of the social audit is diluted by a deficient follow-up mechanism, like insufficient public hearings at the block and district level, poor recovery of amounts objected to in social audit reports, the report said. It recommended strengthening of follow-up actions on social audit reports through public hearings at all levels. “Some village panchayats have not provided records to social audit teams, indicating a lack of sensitisation on social audit among panchayati raj institutions,” it added. Furthermore, there is a critical lack of follow-up on audit observations, evidenced by a less than four per cent recovery rate of misappropriated funds, weak state-level monitoring and ineffective public awareness campaigns, the CAG said. SAU was first registered in December 2016 for the functioning of the MGNREGS Audit of Scheme Rules 2011. It has an independent director and is governed by a governing body, headed by the chief secretary. (Source: PTI)