Tamil Nadu: MGNREGS money went to those who didn't work, reveals audit.
While over 78,700 discrepancies related to financial misappropriations and deviations, amounting to Rs 14 crore, were revealed, in 17,000 cases, wages were disbursed to one or more individuals who did not work. However, thanks to "inadequate" follow-up on audit findings, no corrective action has been initiated by the authorities.
Shanmugha Sundaram J|22 Feb 2025
CHENNAI: A good chunk of money allocated under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) — a rural jobs programme which guarantees 100 days of work per household, and a lifeline for many — in the State for the 2024-25 fiscal went to those who didn't work under the scheme, a social audit has found.
While over 78,700 discrepancies related to financial misappropriations and deviations, amounting to Rs 14 crore, were revealed, in 17,000 cases, wages were disbursed to one or more individuals who did not work. However, thanks to "inadequate" follow-up on audit findings, no corrective action has been initiated by the authorities.
Social auditing, a legal requirement under the MGNREGA Audit of Schemes Rules 2011, aims to ensure accountability and improve the quality of work under the scheme. The audit has been conducted across 11,709 of 12,525 gram panchayats in the State, focusing on fund mismanagement, process violations, and workers' grievances. However, the response and follow-up actions on the findings have been poor. Authorities have only taken action in 6,301 cases out of the 30,068 reported.
Advertisement The audit flagged 78,784 issues, primarily related to financial misappropriation and fund deviations. Of these, Rs 1.89 crore has been successfully recovered, though a large amount remains unsettled. Authorities are yet to act against employees involved in swindling funds, according to government data.
The audit revealed 17,128 cases in which payments were made to individuals or a group, who did not work under the scheme. In onesuch, Rs 8.25 lakh was paid to 37 people in Sivagangai’s Kanjirangal panchayat. Such high payments have been made across many districts including Virudhunagar, Pudukottai, Villupuram, and Tiruvallur.
Similarly, in 14,657 instances, wages were disbursed in excess of what was due. Apart from this, 15,796 reports highlighted significant discrepancies between the measurements recorded at worksites and the values noted in Mbook.
In Tiruvannamalai alone, of 5,314 misappropriation cases identified in the execution of the 100-day employment scheme, only 1,146 issues have been addressed. "Officials are failing to adhere to the guidelines, leading to deviations and embezzlement of funds. So far, the audit has been completed in 93.29 per cent of panchayats," an activist working in the southern districts, who preferred anonymity, said.
