Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh on Wednesday informed Rajya Sabha that the Government has written letters to the heads of IITs and IIMs and vice chancellors of universities seeking their cooperation and involvement in the scheme. Stating that his Ministry has received positive responses from these institutions, the Minister said that the Government requested the officials of these prestigious institutions to visit villages and conduct a spot evaluation.

Apart from this, the Government also sought the institutions to come out with suggestions to set right the shortcomings of the scheme.

Ever since the launch of the UPA Government’s flagship programme, it has been drawing flak from opposition parties as well as the public over poor execution.  Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh had himself conceded that the scheme was marred with problems and vowed to make it totally transparent by the end of this year. UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi in her write-up in the recent issue of Congress mouth piece Sandesh admitted that all was not well in the scheme. 

The recent draft report by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) over the scheme has unearthed embezzlement and diversion of funds in many states. The report also found that the scheme had failed to meet its target of providing 100 days of employment per household.