Punjab has become the only state to have appointed Ombudsmen to take up complaints against the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) being implemented actively in the State.<br/><br/>Rural Development and Panchayats Department Minister of Punjab Ranjit Singh Brahmpura said that the new initiatives under MGNREGA would ensure transparency and accountability in the process making it an effective instrument of poverty alleviation so that benefit of the scheme reaches out to the rural poor job card holders across the state. <br/><br/>The Minister added that the Ombudsman would be an agency independent of the central or state government under Section 27 of MGNREG Act.