The Centre wrote a letter, dated August 12, 2022, to the Telangana government, raising multiple issues in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the state.
“A Central team of the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India was deputed to conduct a monitoring visit in connection with implementation of Mahatma Gandhi NREGS in the State of Telangana from 9th June to 12th June 2022. The team found several issues with the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi NREGS in the State of Telangana,” says the letter.
MGNREGS aims to enhance the livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of wage-employment in a financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
“Inspection by central team had highlighted issues such as undertaking non permissible work (construction of food grain drying platform or staggered trenches in the forest areas), major irregularities in estimation, approval and implementation of the works relating to desilting of Minor Irrigation-Tanks including non-compliance of laid down guidelines, similar irregularities relating to work of staggered trenches (e.g. being taken up in plain areas instead of hilly regions with high gradients, where they are useful), splitting of works to avoid approval of the superior technical authority and other procedural violations of guidelines such as those relating to community information boards, job cards, maintenance of proper documentation in the gram panchayats,” the letter says.
It goes on to say that in view of the serious lapses highlighted, the central government also deployed teams to conduct a thorough scrutiny of implementation of MGNREGS for necessary course correction, and all the visiting 15 teams found deficiencies similar to those observed by the earlier central team.
“Detailed reports were then shared with the Telangana government. The reports reveal serious irregularities and the manner in which NREGS is being administered as against that required by the act, rules, guidelines and circulars issued in this regard by central government and indeed the state government themselves,” it says.
The letter mentions that the way in which MGNREGS is being implemented in Telangana requires action as directed in the central government’s communication to the state, including refund of irregularly spent amounts, criminal and administrative action against the defaulters as also recoveries, but also a thorough overhaul of the administrative machinery and inculcation of a culture of transparency, accountability and making best use of public funds.
The central government views this matter with extreme concern, says the letter, and expects a detailed action-taken report (ATR) against all issues highlighted by the teams/ministry and a thorough enquiry by the state government as appropriate warranted/directed. The Centre has asked the Telangana government to submit a comprehensive ATR latest by September 11, 2022.
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