VIRUDHUNAGAR: A whopping Rs 112.81 crore has been misappropriated from the MGNREGA scheme funds in Virudhunagar district for over a period of 10 years, according to a social audit report by the Union Ministry of Rural Development. The audit has also uncovered 38,063 cases of financial irregularities between 2013 and 2023 here.
The audit report was obtained through an RTI (Right to Information) application filed by activist Karuppasamy.
The RTI reply also mentioned that authorities had managed to recover Rs 78.79 crore of the misappropriated funds.
However, officials from the state Rural Development Department, Virudhunagar, claimed that the said misappropriations were audit objections, and not proven, and that almost all the cases were being settled.
According to the report, a copy of which is with TNIE, the audit disclosed several high-risk irregularities in the scheme including the diversion of MGNREGA funds worth Rs 16.77 lakh to pay the salaries of regular state government staff working in the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA).
As per MGNREGA guidelines, eligible applicants who do not receive employment within 15 days of application are entitled to a daily unemployment allowance. In Arulputhur grama panchayat, 122 wage seekers were issued muster rolls on January 9, 2023, but were not offered alternative work or an unemployment allowance in spite of flooding.
The audit also revealed that despite funds being released (by the Rural Development Department) for the construction of two cattle sheds for beneficiaries, the intended works were never carried out. “In 2020-2021, Rs 2.28 lakh was allocated to construct two cattle sheds for the beneficiaries, but these assets are not available and the beneficiaries could not furnish any suitable reply,” the report said.
During another inspection, the audit team discovered that an individual dug well was constructed for a beneficiary who did not meet the eligibility criteria. As per guidelines, only group wells with sand filters are permitted, provided farmers agree to share water and it is a group of at least three. However, this well was dug on an individual land, with no evidence of group beneficiaries.
The audit also found irregularities in the implementation of Mission Amrit Sarovar, which aims at developing and rejuvenating waterbodies. Apart from misutilisation of the allocated funds of Rs 36.46 lakh, the site selection for the scheme in Sattur and Virudhunagar was wrong and the sites at Rajapalayam, Sattur and Virudhunagar blocks are of no use to society as there is no habitation around 1 km of Amrit Sarovars and no agricultural land nearby that can be benefitted, the audit report said.
Likewise, in Puthur gram panchayat, Rs 32.29 lakh allocated for plantation work under the MGNREGA scheme was misused. While the officials claimed 1,670 saplings were planted, the audit found the number to be less than 100. Further, the site selection too was found to be improper, with no fencing to protect the plants, and no watering arrangements, leading to most plants drying up.
In some cases, the audit team pointed out improper monitoring at the BDO (Block Development Officer) level as a contributing factor to irregularities in the scheme.
In response to the findings, senior officials from the district administration insisted that most issues were merely ‘audit objections’ and had been addressed. “Necessary clarifications were approved in the district's high-level committee, and almost all cases have been resolved,” an official from the state Rural Development Department (Virudhunagar) told TNIE, adding that the information cited as misappropriation was misleading.
For the uninitiated, audit objections are observations noted by auditors during an audit for any irregularities found. When the audited organisation receives the objections, they can provide a reply if they believe the specific financial transaction, or expenditure or process was valid. If the audit team accepts the reply, the objection is settled.
