The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has flagged significant deficiencies in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in Chhattisgarh, citing shortcomings in planning, financial management, employment generation, monitoring and social audit mechanisms. The findings have been presented in the Performance Audit Report on the Implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in Chhattisgarh for the period ended March 2024, which was tabled in the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.

The audit found that the participatory planning process envisaged under the scheme was largely bypassed. Labour Budgets were prepared without conducting household surveys, while most development works were taken up without mandatory approval of Gram Sabhas. In the 48 Gram Panchayats covered under the test check, nearly 86 per cent of the works were executed without Gram Sabha approval.

The report also pointed to a 21 per cent shortage of human resources, particularly Technical Assistants and Gram Rozgar Sahayaks, which affected implementation at the field level. Institutional arrangements such as Technical Cells remained underdeveloped, while training and capacity-building programmes recorded a 97 per cent shortfall against prescribed targets.

Reviewing financial management, the audit noted irregularities in fund utilisation, delays in wage payments despite the availability of funds, and non-payment of Employees' Provident Fund contributions. Employees' Provident Fund dues amounting to ₹29.62 crore remained unpaid during the period from April 2015 to March 2023, resulting in accumulated liabilities of ₹84.59 crore, including interest and penalties.

The report observed that women's participation under the scheme ranged between 43 and 59 per cent, exceeding the statutory minimum of 33 per cent. Participation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was also found to be broadly proportionate to their share in the population. However, of the 134.10 lakh households that were provided employment, 111.31 lakh households (83 per cent) received employment for less than 100 days, 1.23 lakh households (0.92 per cent) completed the guaranteed 100 days of employment, while 21.56 lakh households (16 per cent) received employment beyond 100 days under the scheme.

According to the audit, employment generation did not fully match demand. Between 2019-20 and 2023-24, 152.36 lakh households demanded employment, while 134.10 lakh households were provided work, leaving a shortfall of 18.26 lakh households, or about 12 per cent. The report further noted that no unemployment allowance was paid to eligible households despite the shortfall.

The audit also found that only 61 per cent of the works sanctioned between 2019-20 and 2023-24 had been completed as of October 2024. Joint physical verification revealed instances of idle, non-functional and unutilised assets, while several convergence works were undertaken without prior planning or Gram Sabha approval. The Cluster Facilitation Project in aspirational blocks was affected by delays in operationalisation, shortage of experts and non-achievement of performance targets.

The report highlighted deficiencies in oversight and monitoring, noting that statutory bodies, including the Chhattisgarh Rural Employment Guarantee Council and the State Level Empowered Committee, did not hold the mandatory meetings. District Quality Monitoring Cells were not constituted, while several mandatory records at the Gram Panchayat level were either incomplete or not maintained.

The audit further observed that Social Audit, a key accountability mechanism under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, was not implemented in accordance with prescribed norms. Of the ₹58.68 crore earmarked for Social Audit, only ₹42.55 crore was utilised. Nearly 45 per cent of sanctioned posts in the Social Audit Unit remained vacant, while audit coverage remained inadequate, with up to 99.97 per cent of Gram Panchayats left unaudited in some years. More than 53 per cent of Social Audit observations also remained unresolved.

The Comptroller and Auditor General has made a series of recommendations aimed at strengthening planning, financial management, institutional capacity, monitoring and accountability to improve the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in the State.
 

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RDJ

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