Bhubaneswar, Feb. 2: The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) today accused the state government of failing to implement the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, which has guarantied 100 days employment in a year.

"Though there has been a mandatory provision in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to provide employment for a minimum period of 100 days to the job-seekers in a year, the Odisha government has provided employment for 28 days on an average," said OPCC president Prasad Harichandan quoting the CAG report.

Harichandan said that only 60 lakh job cards had been issued to the job-seekers of the state over the past 10 years. "Wage employment has been provided to 13 lakh job-seekers. Job for mandatory 100 days in a year has been provided to less than one lakh labourers," he said.

Quoting the data of the Odisha labour directorate, the Congress leader said that around 2.35 lakh people migrated to other states every year in search of employment. "The mass exodus vindicates the failure of the mega scheme in Odisha," he said.

The facts came to the fore at the state-level convention organised by the OPCC to commemorate the completion of 10th year of the rural job scheme, the flagship programme of the erstwhile UPA government at the Centre. The scheme was launched on February 2, 2006 in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh by the then Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and was later extended to all the districts across the country.

Senior Congress leaders recalled how central funds released under the scheme were misappropriated. The Supreme Court had ordered a CBI probe into the rural job scam in 2011 and the inquiry was on. "The Odisha government is deliberately delaying the probe," alleged Harichandan.

Several elected panchayati raj representatives narrated their experience at the grassroots level.

Former Union ministers Srikant Jena and Chandrasekhar Sahu called upon the party workers to strengthen the awareness drive across Odisha - which would help check pilferage of the rural job funds.

Though the convention was organised to highlight the achievements of the erstwhile UPA government at the Centre and failures of the BJD government in Odisha, the hidden agenda was to bring unity in the faction-ridden party.

Opposition leader Narasingha Mishra observed that the party workers were active and enthusiastic to bring the party back to power while the leaders were engaged in infighting. "Get united, move around Odisha to sensitise the people," he asked party leaders and cadres.

Incidentally, there was a semblance of unity at the meet, which was attended by leaders of various factions, including former Youth Congress president Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra. Several veteran leaders also stressed on the need for unity in the party for its rejuvenation.

However, the convention witnessed a heated exchange between Harichandan and party leader Bhakta Charan Das. Das took strong exception when former block president from Narla Ashok Chand was called to speak.

Sources close to Das said Chand had contested against the party candidate in 2009 elections and had been suspended from the party subsequently.