Telangana: Vigilance committees to check irregularities in NREGS works

To put an end to irregularities in the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), the government has decided to form vigilance committees in all villages

Karimnagar: To put an end to irregularities in the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), the government has decided to form vigilance committees in all villages. In this regard, instructions were already issued to all districts. Each committee will have five members, including a mandal special officer, a panchayat secretary, a self-help group woman, a representative of a voluntary organization, and an NREGS labourer.

The tenure of the committee is six months. After six months, new committees will be formed. Every year, social audits are done on NREGS works in every mandal. There is an allegation that, though irregularities were unearthed in social audits, adequate action has not been taken in many cases. Though fraudulent employees were suspended at the time of inspections, they are resuming their duties within no time. Moreover, the recovery of the amount has also not been done properly.

Noticing this, the union government has started reducing working days as guidelines are not being followed in the implementation of work. Alerted by the center’s move, the state government has decided to form vigilance committees in all villages. Committees will inspect works at the grassroots level by visiting villages every month. Sanction of works, registration of labourers, attendance, payments of wages to labourers, and other issues will be examined by the committees and send report to the mandal parishad officials.

Mandal-level officials will submit reports of committees to the collector. Based on reports, action will be taken against fraudulent officials and employees. Committee members will present at the time of resolutions to be passed in the gram panchayats regarding the works to be taken up. So, action will be taken if any irregularities were made and labourers were cheated. A huge amount has been misused since the implementation of the scheme. All the amounts were pending without recovery.

Though officials have a right to seize properties under the Records of Rights Act (ROR), recovery has not been done properly. So, there was a chance to recover the amount with the constitution of vigilance committees, NREGS source opined. Instructions were already issued asking the officials to submit the details of works by conducting inspections in the first week of every month. It was also mentioned in the orders that recovery of the amount should be done without any delay.