AP mgnregs Ombudsman Jobs Notification

DETAILS OF Ombudsman Jobs  NOTIFICATION

1. No. of Ombudsman required for each district:

SI No.	Name of the District	No. of Ombudsman Required
1	Srikakulam	01
2	Vizianagaram	01
3	Parvathipuram Manyam	01
4	Anakapalli	01
5	Alluri Sitarama Raju	01
6	Kakinada	01
7	Krishna	01
8	NTR	01
9	Guntur	01
10	Palnadu	01
11	Bapatla	01
12	Prakasam	01
13	Tirupathi	01
14	Chittoor	01
15	Ananthapuramu	01
16	Annamaiah	01
17	YSR	01
18	Kurnool	01
19	Nandyala	01
TOTAL		19

Ombudsman: As per the section 30, schedule 1 of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Act, the States are mandated to appoint an Ombudsman for each district for receiving grievances, enquiring and awards.

2. Appointment, Tenure, Termination and Relinquishment:

A. Method of Appointment:

1. Applications shall be invited through open advertisement as per the pro-forma prescribed by the State Government. The Selection Committee shall prepare a district-wise panel of suitable candidates for consideration for appointment as Ombudsman and rank them in order of preference. No written test or examination shall be conducted while an interview and an internal marking system should be evolved by the Selection Committee to rank candidate in order of preference.
2. Selection of suitable persons for inclusion in the panel shall be based on consideration of eminent standing and impeccable integrity with at least Ten years of experience in public administration, law, academics, social work or management as per documents furnished along with the application. Experience in working with people or community organization shall be a mandatory qualification.
3. In the selection of Ombudsman, preference may be given to a person resident of the same or neighboring district so as to take advantage of his/her first-hand knowledge about the district.
4. The persons selected from the panel for appointment against a vacancy shall be issued a letter appointing them Ombudsman for the district specified and shall mention the term and conditions of such appointment.
5. No person who is a member of a recognized political party or a banned organization shall be considered for appointment as Ombudsman, each person shall be required to file a declaration to this effect along with the application.
6. The persons selected as Ombudsman must be physically active and capable of conducting field tours inspections and visits to remote rural locations in the districts.

B. Tenure, Termination and Relinquishment:

1. Approved district wise panel of eligible persons shall be valid for 2 (two) years, extendable not more than twice by one year each, in case there is any vacancy due to resignation, removal, death etc., the person next in the approved panel shall be offered the appointment as Ombudsman without calling for a fresh meeting of the Selection Committee.
2. The Ombudsman shall be appointed for tenure of 2 (two) years extendable not more than twice by one year each based on a performance appraisal process or till the incumbent attains the age of 68 (sixty-eight) years, whichever is earlier. There shall be no reappointment.
3. Performance appraisal shall be made by the Selection Committee based on information provided by the State Government. Details of the annual appraisal findings In respect of all Ombudsmen made by the Selection Committee shall be furnished to the State Employment Guarantee Council.
4. The Ombudsman may be terminated by the State Government on the recommendation of the Selection Committee. Such recommendation shall be made to the Chief Secretary of the State Government who shall pass appropriate orders. An Ombudsman, may by serving one-month notice, relinquish the work of Ombudsman.

3. Remuneration:

1. The Ombudsman shall be allowed compensation, in the form of a fee, of Rs 2,250 /- per sitting with maximum upper limit of Rs. 45,000 / per month
2. Sitting means per day functioning, irrespective of cases handled and its duration in terms of working hours, it could be for a part of a day also.
   1. All sittings should be properly documented and should be justified by the works discharged.
   2. The frequency of sitting by Ombudsman shall be need based and cannot be fixed
   3. The place of sitting may be decided by the Ombudsman taking into consideration, the convenience of MGNREGS workers concerned.
3. Wherever Ombudsman wants to visit any part of the district for the purpose of conducting field enquiry, the District Program Coordinator/ District Collector shall provide suitable transport facility.

4. TA / DA & Transport:

TA/DA at rates admissible to Class-I Officers of the State Government may be allowed. In case of no such uniform rates are available, the State Government may fix rates for the purpose. The State Government may provide a vehicle from its local pool to an Ombudsman for official purpose as per need. However, no new vehicle can be purchased for the use of Ombudsman from MGNREGA fund. In case of travel by Ombudsman travels in his/her own or hired vehicle for official purpose, the district authorities may reimburse the cost of travel, at the rates fixed by the State Government.

Office expenditure, sitting fee and TA/DA etc. incurred on the office of Ombudsman shall be borne by States from 6% administrative expenditure permitted under section 22 (1) (C) of the MGNREGA.

5. Location of Office and Administrative Support:

1. The Office of MGNREGS Ombudsman shall be located at the District Headquarters
2. Technical and administrative support will be provided by the District Program Coordinator/ District Collector as specified by the State Government in this behalf whenever required.

6. Powers and Responsibilities:

A. Powers of Ombudsman:

1. Receive complaints from MGNREGS workers, beneficiaries and others on any matters specified in clause 9 (MoRD guidelines) either at office or in the field. i.e. a Complaint pertaining to any one or more of the following subjects alleging deficiency in the implementation of the MGNREG Scheme may be filed with the Ombudsman.
2. Consider such complaints and pass awards within 30 days from the date of receipt of complaint. For this purpose, he/she may request MGNREGA authority to provide any information or furnish certified copies of any document relating to the subject matter of the complaint which is or is alleged to be in his/her possession; provided that in the event of failure of such authority to complain with the requisition without any sufficient cause, the Ombudsman may, if he/she deems fit, draw the inferencer that the information, if provided or copies if furnished, would be unfavorable to the concerned MGNREGA authority.
3. Issues direction to the concerned MGNREGA Authority (Assistant PD/Programme Officer) for conducting spot investigation wherever required.
4. Initiate proceedings Suo motu in the event of any circumstance arising within his/her jurisdiction that may cause any grievance including on issues related to delayed payment of wages or non-payment of unemployment allowance as recorded in the MIS.
5. Engage experts for facilitating the disposal of the complaint whenever technical support is required to dispose the complaint, the Ombudsmanshall give the requirement to the District Collector/DPC, MGNREGS under copy to PD, DWMA. The required experts from out of serving Government employees of the district will be made available by the District Collector/District Program Coordinator for specific complaint for specific period.
6. Direct/suggest redressal, disciplinary and corrective actions by way of passing an award.
7. Report his/her awards to the District Collector/ District Programme Co-Ordinator of the District and the Commissioner, Rural Development and Principal Secretary, Rural Development. Wherever Ombudsman feels the need to do so he/she may mark a copy to the Chief Secretary. The District Collector & DPC, MGNREGS will implement the award, basing on merits and strictly as per guidelines and service rules etc. The report will be accompanied with primary evidence needed to initiate action against the delinquent persons.

B. Responsibilities of Ombudsman:

1. Ensuring proper processing of complaints and grievances made or reported to him/her.
2. Maintaining confidentiality of any information or document coming into his/her knowledge or possession in the course of discharging his/her duties and not disclose such information or document to any person except with the consent of the person furnishing such information or document; provided that nothing in this clause shall prevent the Ombudsman from disclosing information or documents furnished by a party in a complaint to the other party or parties, to the extent considered by him to be reasonably required to comply with the principles of natural justice and fair play in the proceedings.
3. Sending a quarterly report to the Chief Secretary and Secretary, State Nodal Department recommending appropriate action. The report shall specially highlight cases where action needs to be taken against erring MGNREGA functionaries for their failure to redress grievances. The report will be accompanied by primary evidence needed to initiate action against the delinquent persons.
4. Furnishing a report every year containing a general review of activities of the office of the Ombudsman during the precoding financial year to the Chief Secretary and the Secretary. State Nodal Department along with such other information as may be considered necessary by him/her. In the annual report, the Ombudsman, on the basis of grievances handled by him/her, will review the quality of the working of the MGNREGA authorities and make recommendations to improve implementation of MGNREGA. The report shall be displayed on the MGNREGA website.
5. Compiling a list of ‘awards’ of Ombudsman between April and March of each financial year in respect of every MGNREGA Authority complained against and report it to the Chief Secretary of the State and the State Nodal Department. Text of awards shall also be displayed on the MGNREGA website by the State Nodal Department.

7. Procedure for redressal of Grievances:

Grounds on which compliant shall be filed:

A complaint pertaining to any one or more of the following subjects alleging deficiency in the implementation of the MGNREG Scheme may be filed with the Ombudsman.

1. Gram Sabha meetings and their record keeping
2. Registration of households and issue of Job Cards
3. Custody of Job Cards
4. Demand for work
5. Issue of dated acknowledgement receipt against application for employment
6. Payment of wages
7. Payment of unemployment allowance
8. Payment of compensation for delayed wage payments
9. Discrimination on the basis of gender
10. Work site facilities
11. Measurement of work
12. Quality of work
13. Usage of labour displacing machines
14. Engagement of contractors
15. Operation of accounts in the Banks/Post Offices of wage seekers
16. Registration and disposal of complaints
17. Verification of Muster Rolls
18. Inspection of documents (work files, M. Books)
19. Use of funds
20. Release of funds
21. Any fraudulent activity brought out by Social Audit
22. Maintenance of Record
23. Deprivation of any entitlement assured in the Act/Schedule
24. A sample check may be done by Ombudsman from all Gram Panchayats level Whatsapp groups of its district, whether every required member is registered.
25. Ombudsman may enquire any complaint regarding attendance received from any registered member.

N.B: State Nodal Department may include any other ground on which a complaint may be filed with the Ombudsman.

8. Procedure for filing the Complaint:

1. Any person(s), who has a grievance against the MGNREGA authority or beneficiary may, himself or through his authorized representative, make a complaint against a MGNREGA authority or beneficiary in writing to the Ombudsman or to any MGNREGA authority superior to authority complaint against. Complaints addressed to Ombudsman but received by MGNREGA authority shall be forwarded to the Ombudsman concerned.
2. The complaint shall be duly signed by the complainant or his authorized representative if any and shall state clearly the name and address of the complainant.
3. A complaint made through electronic means shall also be accepted by the Ombudsman. The printout of the complaint shall be signed by the complainant in the presence of Ombudsman.
4. No complaint to the Ombudsman shall lie if the complaint has the same subject matter or is directly and substantially same as the complaint which has already been disposed of by the office of the Ombudsman in any previous proceedings.
5. No complaint made to the Ombudsman shall be taken cognizance of, on any issue which has been or is the subject matter of any proceeding in any Suit, appeal, revision, reference or Writ before any Court, Tribunal or High Court.
6. A dated receipt shall be issued to every complaint as soon as the complaint is received.

9. Proceeding to be summary in nature:

The Ombudsman shall not be bound by any legal rules of evidence and may follow such procedure that appears to him/her to be fair and proper in accordance with the principles of natural justice.

10. Disposal of Complaint:

1. On receipt of the complaint Ombudsman may refer the (Project Director, DWMA / Programme Officer) for disposal within seven (7) days. In the event of failure of the MGNREGA authority to dispose of the complaint the matter may be taken up by the Ombudsman for disposal.
2. The Ombudsman shall cause a notice of the receipt of the complaint along with a copy of the complaint to be sent to the MGNREGA authority complained against.
3. When facts of the case are admitted by the parties, the Ombudsmanshall dispose the case in accordance with the requirements of the MGNREG Act, Rules and Guidelines.
4. If the facts are not admitted by the parties in a case, Ombudsman may pass an award after affording the parties reasonable opportunity to present their case. Ombudsman shall be guided by the evidenceplaced before him/her by the parties, the reports of social audits, if any, the provisions of MGNREG Act and Scheme and practice, directions, and instructions issued by the State Government or the Central Government from time to time and such other factors whichin his/her opinion are necessary in the interest of justice.
5. The Ombudsman may conduct a spot investigation in case it is required, to enable the matter to be disposed of satisfactorily; or ask for a report from a MGNREGA functionary based on a spot visit. In case the state government issues guidelines for the purpose, he may also call for a report from an expert.

Normally a spot investigation should be done with advance notice to all parties and to the local Gram Panchayat, and presence of parties recorded on a separate ‘spot investigation summary’ to be prepared by the Ombudsman on the spot and signed by any of the parties who wish to do so.

However, If the Ombudsman is of the view that a surprise inspection is essential to elicit the correct position, he may do so after informing the Programme Officer of the general location of the spot inspection, in all such cases, he shall in his ‘spot investigation summary record the details of persons actually present, and shall invariably take photographs of the site and of the persons present and attach a print out with the spot investigation summary. In case a spot investigation was done, copy of the spot investigation summary shall also be attached to the report of the Ombudsman,

11. Awards by the Ombudsman and Appeal

The awards shall be a speaking order consisting of the In following components:

1. details of the parties of the case.
2. (II) brief facts of the case
3. Issues for consideration.
4. findings in favor or against issues along with reasons.

5. Directions to the concerned MGNREGA authority regarding performance of its obligations under the MGNREG Act and recommendations regarding expediting delayed matters, taking of disciplinary and punitive action against erring persons, etc. except imposition of penalties under the MGNREG Act.
6. Costs if any.
7. If a complaint is found to be false, frivolous, malicious or vexatious, the Ombudsman shall, for reasons to be recorded in writing, dismiss the complaint and recommend action against the complainant.
8. A copy of the award shall be sent to the complainant, the MGNREGA authority complained against and the District Program Coordinator.

N.B: When the aggrieved person appeals to the Appellate Authority, the award given by Ombudsman shall be kept in abeyance until the final decision of Appellate Authority is passed.

12. Territorial Jurisdiction:

1. In case an Ombudsman is unavailable for any reason in a district, including simple leave of absence, Ombudsman of adjoining district may be given all or any of the work of the district as may be specified.
2. In case of termination or relinquishment, Ombudsman of the adjoining district may be given charge of the district till new appointment is made which shall be not later than three months from the date of vacancy.

13. Coverage of the Ombudsman under Right to Information Act. 2005:

1. Ombudsman shall be covered under the Right to Information Act,2005.
2. The Panchayat Raj & Rural Department of the State Government shall notify the Public Information Officer.