Study finds massive corruption in NREGA

A government-sponsored study on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has found large-scale corruption and irregularities in the implementation of the programme in several states with authorities in some areas misappropriating' central funds and threatening workers to keep their mouth shut.

"There was great fraud in the making (of job) cards, muster rolls were not maintained properly and work was not provided to job seekers sometimes," a team of researchers from the V V Giri National Labour Institute noted in their draft report, asking the government to take preventive measures.

The study has found that in many cases, workers performed one day's job but their attendance was put for 33 days. The workers got money for one day while wages for 32 days were "misappropriated by the people associated with the functioning of NREGS".

"In fact, the workers were threatened to keep their mouths shut. One of them mentioned that the NREGS had proved to be a boon for the panchayat functionaries," they said in the report. The study, sponsored by the rural development ministry, was initiated in September 2008.

The research team visited Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. They collected secondary material and also elicited information from different stakeholders like the 'gram pradhan' and beneficiary workers, besides interviewing implementing agencies and personnel. The study team found that in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal and Bihar, the job cards were not in the possession of workers but with the sarpanch and other panchayat functionaries, while in many cases job cards were found to be fudged with fake entries.

"In most of the cases, job cards were found in the possession of sarpanch or other panchayat functionaries. In many cases, it was found that job cards were fudged and fake entries made," it said.

The report also noted 'interpersonal conflicts' among project officers, block development officers and the sarpanch, saying this has affected the performance and efficiency of the project officers.

"In some places, the sarpanch were using their political clouts to trouble the POs. In some cases, the block development officers were sore about snatching away of their signatory authority on NREGS cheques," it noted.

The report suggested the monitoring of workers and daily task measurements by 'technical specialists'.

"There should be a monitoring committee consisting of some members of the civil society, along with the panchayat functionaries and beneficiary workers," it said.