CAG net for all rural development schemes

“A better option than stopping release of funds and ordering a probe by CBI”

The government has announced that all rural development programmes, including the flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, would be brought within the ambit of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). The outlay on rural development programmes during the current fiscal has been put at Rs. 88,000 crore.

“You will be happy to know that for the first time the government has decided to bring all rural development programmes under CAG audit,” Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, while answering a query from a Samajwadi Party Member on whether the Centre had any mechanism to deal with instances of misuse of funds in States.

Auditing by the CAG was better than stopping the release of funds and ordering a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), he said. CAG audits would bring out the irregularities, whereas the other options would be non-starters — States would not ask the Centre for a CBI probe against themselves and choking the flow of funds would hurt the intended beneficiaries.

Performance audits of rural development schemes would be carried out in 12 States and special auditors have been named for some States, Mr. Ramesh said, even as the Minister and members of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) renewed their acrimony, resulting from his pointing out misappropriation of funds in seven districts in Uttar Pradesh in a letter last month to party supremo and Chief Minister Mayawati.

The BSP members alleged the intention behind the letter was to gain political mileage as elections to the U.P. Assembly were round the corner. They complained that the State was being cut out of schemes under the Prime Minister's Gramin Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) and sought coverage of villages with up to 500 inhabitants.

Mr. Ramesh said this demand could not be met immediately because there was a general funds crunch and many larger villages were yet to be covered. As a result, the government had prioritised the coverage of villages with a habitation of up to 999.