Social audit shows irregularities in rural job scheme

GARHWA: Largescale irregularities, including non-payment of wages, fake job cards, lack of awareness and non-conduct of social audit in some panchayats came to the fore at a district-level public hearing at a social audit programme of MGNREGA held at the local Nilamber Town Hall here on Thursday.

The results of the audit for each gram panchayat were read out. This included not only discrepancies and irregularities but also the good work. The discussions were free, unrestrained, transparent and animated. In certain villages, while some stated that the labourers had not been paid for the work done for the past eight months, some alleged that wages of 27 labourers were due since 2010. It was also alleged that as many as 35 fake job cards were found in Mukundpur village in Ketar block.

DDC Ravindra Prasad Singh ordered immediate action those officials who were not present at the meeting. He also recommended action against the Ramkanda BDO and slapped fines against other absentees, that included junior engineers, panchayat sevaks and rojgar sevaks.

Speaking at the programme, Garhwa DC Rajendra Pratap Sinha stressed on transparency. "MGNREGA is not a scheme, rather it is an act," he said. The act assures at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every rural household, Sinha maintained. "There is provision in the act that jobs will be provided to job card holders after 15 days of application and their wages will be paid after a maximum period of 15 days," he said.

DDC Singh said the social audit is a continuous process, which is carried out by all mukhiyas in there respective panchayats.

The DDC also said an MGNREGA helpline would soon be effective.