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

• Projects worth Rs 1.49 crore assigned to NGOs having a tardy work record

• In violation of rules, the Darbhanga DDC transferred Rs 2.69 crore to another division for constructing boundary walls for projects under the backward district initiative

• Rs 2.77 crore paid to unregistered labourers, while Rs 8.99 lakh given to fictitious ones in seven projects. The same names registered twice or thrice

JHARKHAND

• The Gumla District Commissioner sanctioned Rs 1.24 crore for ‘Safed Musli’ cultivation, as part of “commercial farming”. However, this has only 12 per cent labour component (Rs 15.30 lakh) as against the stipulated 60 per cent (Rs 74.4 lakh)

• In Hazaribagh, 20,995 muster rolls did not have the unique identification number. In one block, Rs 5.22 lakh was paid through 5,000 of such rolls

• Rs 8.01 lakh paid against false muster rolls, and labour paid even before the start of a project

• Non-availability of updated data means the actual employment sought and that provided could not be verified

ORISSA

• In Kalahandi, 149 projects costing Rs 7.55 crore were executed through contractors in the guise of Village Labour Leaders from February 2006 till November 2006 and subsequently as a department project, in violation of rules

• A check revealed mismatch between actual employment provided on job cards and that reported online. “Job cards were unreliable,” concluded the audit

• 5,316 muster rolls in Kalahandi and Bolangir districts not treated as expenditure documents. Instead payment released in the manner of contractual work

• Rs 7.98 lakh paid in excess in 13 cases in Bhawanipatna block of Kalahandi

• Three road works costing Rs 15 lakh inflated measurements, resulting in Rs 1.80 lakh of excess payments, while Rs 29.85 lakh spent on un-registered labourers

• In Kalahandi, Rs 0.77 lakh paid to 64 ineligible labourers, while 866 labourers in six gram panchayats of the state underpaid by Rs 0.48 lakh

CHHATTISGARH

• No exact data on households which demanded work

• Job card numbers not mentioned in about 75 per cent of the projects being implemented through other agencies

• Wages paid at Rs 58.73 per day as against rates of Rs 61.37 per day and Rs 62.63 per day, applicable during different periods. Works allocated to other implementing agencies, which did not sent any information regarding expenditure and employment provided What needs to be kept in mind is that these findings are from barely 160 gram panchayats in 20 districts of the four states. A simple extrapolation of similar mismanagement of NREGS funds in all the gram panchayats of all 73 districts of these states would throw up some startling figures, punching more holes in the UPA government’s showpiece.