SRINAGAR: The government of Jammu and Kashmir has withheld the salaries of four Additional District Programme Coordinators (ADPCs)/Assistant Commissioners Development (ACDs) over poor implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act during the first quarter of the 2026-27 financial year.
According to an order issued on Friday by Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Mohammad Aijaz Asad, a review of district-wise performance under the scheme found “extremely poor and negligible achievement” in generation of person-days against approved labour budget targets in several districts.
The order said that despite repeated directions and monitoring by the department regarding execution of works, registration of demand and enhancement of employment generation under MGNREGA, certain districts failed to make satisfactory progress, reflecting deficiencies in supervision, monitoring and field-level implementation.
The officers whose salaries were withheld are Muzaffar Ahmad Sheikh, Abdul Rashid Ganaie, Manoj Kumar and Rafiq Ahmad.
The order stated that the salaries of the officers would remain withheld with immediate effect until further orders and would depend on improvement in performance under the scheme.
Asad said the department remained committed to ensuring accountability and effective implementation of MGNREGA, which provides guaranteed wage employment to rural households.
He said delays in execution of works, failure to meet labour budget targets and lapses in implementation directly affected rural communities and undermined the objectives of the scheme.
The Secretary added that district and field-level officers had repeatedly been directed to improve planning, execution and monitoring to ensure timely employment generation.
The order also directed all District Programme Coordinators, who are Deputy Commissioners, to closely monitor implementation of the scheme and submit fortnightly progress reports to the Administrative Department.
It warned that any non-compliance would invite disciplinary action under relevant provisions of the JK Civil Services Rules and other applicable laws.
