CAG faults M.P. rural employment schemes

By Our Staff Correspondent

BHOPAL, DEC. 14 The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India (CAG) has indicted the Madhya Pradesh Government for its defective handling of the Rural Employment Programmes saying that the implementation of these programmes suffered from a number of shortcomings during the seven-year period from 1992 to 1999.

The CAG report, tabled in the just-concluded State Assembly session, has highlighted several shortcomings in the implementation of rural employment programmes in the State. The report says that the budget provision for this purpose worked out to only 16 per cent of the actual requirement of Rs. 17,419 crores and the average employment provided to the identified 55.51 lakh families worked out to merely 16 mandays a year as against the 100 mandays assured under the EAS alone.

The report further says that the planning of the programme at the district level lacked seriousness. Shelf of projects, location of works to be undertaken, employment requirement and projections were not available in all test- checked districts, the report says adding that the implementation was adversely affected due to lack of supervision, guidance and monitoring at different levels. Departure from the prescribed procedure and norms also resulted in faulty implementation, misutilisation of funds and incorrect assessment of wage level and creation of assets, the report says.

Some main findings of the review by the CAG show that the Jawahar Rozgar Yojna (JRY) and Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS) funds amounting to Rs. 59.84 crores were not released to District Rural Development Agency/Zilla Parishads (DRDAs/ZPs) during 1995-96 and 1997-98. Besides, Rs. 368.41 crores were released one to 6 months late, by the State Government during 1992-98 while Rs. 79.13 crores out of Rs. 79.34 crores were released 8 to 84 days late to the Panchayats.

Moreover, the CAG report points out, Central assistance of Rs. 14.38 crores was deducted in 1997-98 due to various shortcomings on the part of the State Government. An interest of Rs. 4.73 crores earned by Zilla Panchayats during 1992-97 was not added to the programme funds. Listing more irregularities, the report points out that the JRY and EAS funds of Rs. 93.59 crores were transferred to civil deposits during 1992-93, 1996-97 and 1998- 99. Funds amounting to Rs.l22.4 crores were kept in fixed deposits, treasury deposits and current accounts. A sum of Rs. 10.83 crores were debited to JRY on pro rata basis for administrative expenditure and credited as State Revenue while expenditure on salaries was debited to IRDP. Contingent expenditure charged to works amounted to Rs. 7.06 crore under JRY. An advance of Rs. 4.6 crores given to executing agencies were treated as expenditure during 1993-97.

The CAG has identified more flaws in the implementation of the Rural Employment Programmes by pointing out that the JRY and EAS funds amounting to Rs. 55.19 crores were diverted to other schemes out of which Rs. 18.58 crores were not received back while Rs. 75.45 crore were diverted for departmental works/activities not covered by the scheme.

CAG has further pointed out that muster rolls were not maintained for employment of 910.74 lakh mandays generated under Million Wells Scheme (MWS) and Indira Awas Yojna (IAY) during 1992-96. Wages paid to workers were found to be less than the minimum prescribed wages by 18 to 40 percent resulting in short payment of Rs. 9.3 crores.

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