Jairam Ramesh seeks CAG help to plug leaking NREGA

Jairam Ramesh has sought the help of CAG of India to begin special financial and performance audit in 12 states, flagging specific irregularities it has noticed in the government’s flagship rural employment programme.

By ET Bureau | Updated: Nov 24, 2011, 06.01 AM IST

NEW DELHI: Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh has sought the help of Comptroller and Auditor General ( CAG) of India to begin special financial and performance audit in 12 states, flagging specific irregularities it has noticed in the government’s flagship rural employment programme.

The minister has said that as there is no proper institutional system within the rural development ministry to carry out audits for government’s big-ticket schemes, the CAG needs to step in. “As you would agree that C&AG has a crucial role to play in putting in place a robust audit system for MGNREGS,” Ramesh has written in a letter to CAG.

“The scheme with an annual budgetary allocation of Rs 40,000 crore needs focused attention and has to be accorded high priority,” he added in the letter. The minister attached a list of deviations identified by the ministry for the year 2009-10 and 2010-11.

The first 12 states to have a CAG audit would include Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Karnataka.

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