Even minimum wages have not been paid in some states, says audit.
If bringing wage employment to the rural poor was the idea behind the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), the draft performance audit report of CAG points to a serious disconnect. Far from reaching the intended beneficiaries, the audit says the money has been diverted to NGOs and other implementing agencies.
The four poorest states of Bihar, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand were anticipated to have a higher demand for employment, and accounted for 73 of the total 200 poorest districts selected for the NREGS in the first year. But in the “absence of identified low-wage areas”, the CAG report says, the scheme has suffered from poor planning and hence “non-timely” provision of employment.
The “lack of documentation” has also resulted in non-payment of minimum wages and denial of unemployment allowance, allowing “diversion” of funds. The NREGS hence is nowhere close to its goal of creation of durable infrastructure in rural areas, which would contribute to long-term employment.
While some may defend the lack of planning saying it was just the first year of implementation of the NREGS, the fact is that these districts were earlier covered under a different scheme where planning of projects was mandatory.
Some findings of the CAG audit in these states:
BIHAR
• 37 projects started contrary to NREGS rules in Supaul, and had to be abandoned. Around Rs 28 lakh wasted in the process
• Wages worth Rs 12.05 lakh paid in 17 projects with muster rolls not specifying date or work orders
... contd.
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