The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has recommended a model format of accounts for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
In a report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the Government auditor asked the Rural Development Ministry to comply with rules and guidelines while releasing funds for the scheme to ensure transparency.
The auditor said it had noticed non-payment of unemployment allowance and non-maintenance of essential records in all States during the audit. The report said job cards were not issued to 12,455 households in six States. “There were several cases of delayed payment of wages, for which no compensation was paid,” the report added.
The report said irregularities were noticed in work undertaken under scheme. “Works of Rs 2,252.43 crore, which were undertaken under the scheme, were not permissible. It was seen that 7,69,575 works amounting to Rs 4,070.76 crore were incomplete even after one to five years. It was also noted that expenditure on works amounting to Rs 6,547.35 crore did not result in creation of durable assets,” the report concluded, and added that cases of diversion of funds for other uses were also seen in a number of States.
The CAG report said in 14 States and one Union Territory, 129.22 lakh works amounting to Rs 1,26,961.11 crore were approved in the annual plans. “But only 38.65 lakh works (30 per cent of planned works) amounting to Rs 27,792.13 crore were implemented during the audit period, indicating significant inefficiencies in implementation of annual plans,” the report said.
The second performance audit of the United Progressive Alliance’s flagship scheme was carried out at the insistence of the Rural Development Minister, Jairam Ramesh. The CAG examined implementation of the scheme in 3,848 gram panchayats in 28 States and four Union Territories.
The auditor said an analysis of releases made showed that three States — Bihar, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh — had 46 per cent of the rural poor, but accounted for only 20 per cent of the total funds released under the scheme. “This would indicate that the poorest of poor were not fully able to exercise their rights under the MGNREGA,” it added.