Major scam found in MGNREGS works

Adilabad: Irregularities up to Rs 6 crore have been detected in the execution of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) works in the district and a sum of Rs 1.20 crore has been recovered from the field assistants and officials.

Of the recovered sum, Rs 35,40,000 has been deposited in the bank, according to Rathod Rajeswar, Project Director (PD) of DRDA.

Besides, 24 field assistants, 23 technical assistants and three computer operators, an APO have been placed under suspension. Around 500 mates who supervise works at the field level have been dismissed from service.

Social audits have put the irregularities detected while executing 11,440 development works at a cost of Rs 600 crore. Irregularities have been detected in Boath, Indravelli, Gudi Hatnoor, Ichchoda, Utnoor and Narnoor mandals, the PD said.

In Boath mandal, where works worth Rs 18 crore have been executed, accounted for the highest number of irregularities. The officials put works worth Rs 4 crore as bogus works. Old works have been shown as new works, he added.

There was no account for the works executed for 75,000 square meters. At Sonala, bogus job cards have been issued in the name of 221 students and funds siphoned off by officials. Under the limits of Kanukagutla Boath Panchayat, no works have been executed till now. Old trenches have been shown as newly dug trenches to show fake accounts.

Social audit revealed that the job cards were issued in the name of deceased in Indravelli mandal. In Utnoor mandal, identification of places where development works were executed became difficult.

At the field level, technical assistants and APOs resorted to major irregularities in remote villages because of lack of effective supervision. Moreover, the workers have to grease the palms of the officials up to Rs 300 per head to receive their wages.

There were three lakh job cards in the district, of which, only two lakh workers were getting works. The MGNREGS workers have been urging the authorities to provide work to genuine workers by checking the irregularities.

A resident of Boath, Raju, speaking to The Hans India here on Wednesday alleged that the district officials received bribes in the alleged irregularities of the NREGS works and the resultant misappropriation of funds.

Responding to allegations of irregularities, District Rural Development Agency Project Director Rathod Rajeshwar said that money has been recovered from the officials who resorted to corruption.

He warned the officials that stringent action would be taken against those who had resorted to irregularities.

He said that geo-tagging would be enforced soon to check corruption.