Assam Government Restricts Junior Officers from Acting as In-Charge BDOs

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The Assam government has issued a fresh directive clarifying that officers below the rank of Block Development Officer (BDO) cannot be entrusted with the charge of in-charge BDO during the leave, training or temporary unavailability of the incumbent officer. This directive is necessitated by the fact that an officer of a rank below BDO is not authorized to perform the role of Programme Officer (PO) under MGNREGA, now renamed as Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), in short VB-G RAM G Act.

Appointment of such in-charge BDOs is posing hurdles in implementing the MGNREGA or VB-G RAM G Act in rural areas of the state.

A notification issued recently by the state’s Panchayat and Rural Development (B) Department states that it has been noticed that in several blocks, officers below the rank of BDO were being assigned the responsibilities of in-charge BDO. Such arrangements, the notification said, are inconsistent with the Operational Guidelines, 2013, of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005. MGNREGA has been rechristened VB-G RAM G Act, but the guidelines remain the same.

Referring to Para 4.3.1(ii) of the Operational Guidelines, the government reiterated that the Programme Officer (PO) under MGNREGA “will not be below the rank of Block Development Officer (BDO).” The provision is aimed at ensuring that the implementation of the MGNREGA scheme is handled by officers of appropriate rank, authority and accountability, as envisaged under the Act.

To ensure strict compliance with statutory provisions, the government has directed that only a BDO from a nearby development block, an executive magistrate, or an officer of equivalent or higher rank shall be assigned as the in-charge BDO of a block during periods when the regular BDO is unavailable.

The order is expected to bring uniformity and administrative discipline in the execution of rural employment guarantee act works across the state.

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