NREGS wages paid through PO savings accounts 16 lakh NREGS accounts already opened Current target: 1 crore. Final target: 2 crore JAIPUR: The village post offices, slowly losing ground to the highly competitive private enterprises both in savings accounts and delivery of letters, are busy once again thanks to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). The scheme, launched last April in all the districts of the country, has a provision for payment of NREGS wages through the post office savings accounts. "We already have 16 lakh NREGS accounts and the current target is one crore accounts,' says S. Gauriar, Chief Post Master General of Rajasthan Circle, adding, "Thousands of accounts are opened in the State every day and our staff in 9,000-odd village post offices have been given special instructions in this regard.' Even while there are complaints from people's representatives that the condition of opening a post office savings account is holding up payment of wages under NREGS in some Rajasthan districts, Mr. Gauriar claimed that the process is smooth. "Rajasthan, after Andhra Pradesh which started the process early, can claim to have issued the maximum number of accounts to villagers under the scheme in the country,' he noted. The State with 33 districts would ultimately have 2 crore such accounts, Mr. Gauriar informed. A minimum of Rs.50 is required for opening the account while in place of signatures thumb impressions are also accepted. There can be joint accounts also but there are instances of each family having half a dozen accounts as well, he noted. Mr. Gauriar, who briefed journalists here on Tuesday on the new initiatives being taken in the postal sector by Union Minister of State for Communications and IT Jyotiraditya M. Scindia under the Project Arrow -- Post Office a window to the world for Aam Aadmi -- said 25 post offices would be taken up for up-gradation in Rajasthan under the project. Project Arrow envisages improving the overall quality and efficiency in mails, savings bank, other counter operations and all IT-enabled services. Among the 50 post offices selected as pilot post offices in the country for completion by August 15, five are in Rajasthan. They include the Secretariat post office in Jaipur and the post office in Jhalawar.