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Pocketing MNREGS funds

THE Punjab Government has been quick in taking cognisance of The Tribune report on the alleged embezzlement of the Centre-sponsored Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) funds by sarpanches and panchayat members in connivance with state officials.

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THE Punjab Government has been quick in taking cognisance of The Tribune report on the alleged embezzlement of the Centre-sponsored Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) funds by sarpanches and panchayat members in connivance with state officials. Though based on field work across Punjab in 2012-13 as part of a study, a departmental probe has been ordered and the Rural Development and Panchayats Minister has assured of a Vigilance follow-up, if required. Since the contours of the scheme have not changed, there is every reason to doubt that this was a one-off rip-off.

Published in the Indian Journal of Economics and Development, the study claimed that against the mandated 100 days, the scheme generated only 20.23 average days of employment a year. What’s more shocking, only 1.64 per cent beneficiary households got work, and 21.29 per cent none at all. Other facts only point to the extent of the malaise: beneficiaries, most of them illiterate, had to pay Rs 20-60 to get a job card, which in many cases were made in the name of big farmers. In 40.83 per cent cases, panchayat members and secretaries kept job cards with themselves. Far away in Telangana, a not-so-different picture emerged a few days back when a revenue officer, named the state’s ‘best tehsildar’ two years ago, was left red-faced as a raiding team stumbled upon Rs 93.5 lakh in cash and 400 gm of gold at her house. A video has gone viral showing a farmer falling at her feet and pleading with her. It’s this brazenness that’s revolting.

The latest UN report says that between 2006 and 2016, India has lifted 27.1 crore out of multidimensional poverty — based on the premise that poverty is defined not simply by income, but by indicators like poor health, poor quality of work and the threat of violence. Uplifting news, without a doubt, but can there be anything more disgusting than the targeted loot of these most vulnerable of Indians? Punjab has a point to prove in dealing with the scamsters.

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