Mizoram Congress Party to ensure 100 PC success in Dev programme

Aizawl, Oct 1 : The Lal Thanhawla-led Congress government in Mizoram has taken every measure to ensure 100 per cent success rate in its flagship programme New Land Use Policy (NLUP). According to a UNI report, one of the salient features of the NLUP Manual, approved by the state government recently, is a penalty against misutilisation of its funds on the part of the beneficiaries.

“Any beneficiary found misappropriating the funds will have to repay the entire amount with five per cent interest.

The Public Demand Recovery Act 2001 will be enforced to deal with the defaulters. Besides, the defaulting beneficiary will be barred from all other development schemes from the government in the future,’’ an official in the NLUP apex board said.

The NLUP, a scheme to eradicate the destructive and unproductive shifting cultivation in Mizoram, had failed to achieve its goal during the previous Congress government of two consecutive terms till 1998 mainly because of misutilisation of the funds on the part of the beneficiaries.

“This time, the government has taken every possible measure to ensure a cent per cent success,’’ the official said.

A bonafide citizen of India, depending on shifting cultivation or who does not have permanent occupation and had been running an independent household at least for one year was entitled to get the NLUP fund amounting to Rs 1 lakh per family or more than that depending on the activity selected.

Those with permanent occupations- government employees, full-time mission(Church) workers, employees under companies or public/private sectors, businessmen, suppliers, contractors and those having permanent wet rice cultivation or other plantations who employ workers are not entitled to the scheme.

The government is planning to cover the entire state within the next ten years. The amount may exceed Rs 1 lakh depending on the trade or activity will be paid in installments.

“The utilisation of the money will be closely monitored. If a beneficiary fails to utilise the first installment, he or she will be barred from the next installment,’’ the official said.

The NLUP apex board has identified trades/activities to be covered by the scheme in the various line departments. Assistance under the NLUP for all the trades/activities is limited to three years while some activities will be assisted for only two years.

Those trades/activities which have a gestation period is longer than three years may be further assisted under the central scheme such as NREGS and others.

The Congress partys major poll plank before the 2008 state Assembly elections, the NLUP basically aims to do away with the shifting cultivation on which about 70 per cent of the agrarian farmers still depend.