Corruption, irregularity in NREGA in Bundelkhand: NGO

A NGO has alleged that there is "corruption and irregularity" in the implementation of NREGA in the Bundelkhand region in Uttar Pradesh.

"We came across a large number of poor Dalit households who have not received even a single day of NREGS work in last four years or received it only for a few days," Centre for Environment and Food Security (CEFS) said in its report. The Delhi-based NGO, which conducted a survey in the districts of Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi and Lalitpur of Bundelkhand region during November-December last year, "found massive corruption and serious irregularities in the implementation of the rural job scheme."

The rural employment guarantee scheme in the region has been "virtually hijacked by officials responsible for its implementation," it claimed. "We found that in the implementation of NREGA in Bundelkhand there has only been guarantee of corruption, unemployment, poverty, hunger and humiliation..." it added. The CEFS claimed that during the survey, it found that "very few" villagers had even seen muster rolls in the five districts.

"Muster rolls are never available at the work sites," it said, adding there was "little transparency and accountability in the implementation of the Act in these districts." The grievance redressal mechanism prescribed under the Act "is as good as non-existent" in these five districts, the NGO said.

It said that neither gram sabhas were conducted in any of the villages surveyed by it nor social audit of the NREGS projects. As per the Act, social audit has to be conducted by gram sabhas at least once in six months and its announcement be made 30 days in advance. "We were told by the villagers that NREGS related gram sabhas and social audits are conducted only in the official records and not on the ground," CEFS said.

Courtesy: PTI

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