The Hindu : Karnataka News : Ekantaiah seeks probe into ‘frauds’ committed under NREGS

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Karnataka

Ekantaiah seeks probe into ‘frauds’ committed under NREGS

Staff Correspondent

‘Officials at all levels involved in misappropriating funds’

Chitradurga: Former Minister H. Ekantaiah has said that he will soon write to the Union Government seeking an independent probe into the alleged frauds committed in implementation of the Centrally sponsored National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) if the State Government fails to order an inquiry and initiate action against erring officials.

Addressing presspersons here on Monday, he alleged that officials at all levels were involved in misappropriating funds.

Mr. Ekantaiah said that rules were openly violated while implementing the schemes. “According to the guidelines, a third-party inspection is mandatory before clearing bills. However, in a number of cases, bills are being cleared without third-party inspection,” he said.

He said that Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Shobha Karandlaje had never held any meeting to evaluate the status of projects under the NREGS and the BRGF. He also alleged that Revenue and district in-charge Minister G. Karunakara Reddy had not visited the villages to get firsthand reports on the projects.

Mr. Ekantaiah said that a big sum had been misused in purchasing material under the BRGF. “For each axe purchased, Rs. 650 has been paid. I fail to understand what type of axe they have purchased. Moreover, no specification has been mentioned about the material purchased. The amount of material also varies from one gram panchayat to another,” he claimed, displaying a copy of the purchase order.

He said that though these matters had been brought to the notice of the officials concerned, action had not been taken. With regard to the NREGS, he said that the Government had issued guidelines to distribute wages only through post offices or nationalised banks, yet the zilla panchayat here was still distributing wages through cooperative banks.

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