A Case of fraud was lodged against 24 NGOs on Sunday for allegedly duping the state government of Rs 80 lakh.

The NGOs had received the amount in connection with a pilot project, supposed to rehabilitate child labourers in Faizabad district. The project, which was to run for two years beginning March 2007, is yet to take off. It aimed at abolishing child labour, providing free education, food and lodging to the affected children.

As part of the project, 24 rehabilitation centres were to be set up from block to the district headquarter level — to be run by NGOs selected through tenders. For this purpose, they were paid an initial amount of Rs 80 lakh.

Daya Shankar, a social activist who has been working for the cause of child labourers for over 10 years now, had been alleging that the NGOs ran the rehabilitation centres only on paper in connivance with government officials.

On Friday, District Magistrate Anil Garg deputed a team of officials — headed by Chief Revenue Officer R K Sonar and Basic Education Officer V P Singh — to conduct a physical verification of the rehabilitation centres.

The team, which submitted its report on Saturday, found that most of the centres did not exist. “I have ordered the registration of FIR against the NGOs and the recovery of Rs 80 lakh paid to them,” said Garg.