₹1217.05 crore unpaid wages and materials pending in MGNREGS, CAG finds

It assessed planning, financial management, employment generation, works execution, and monitoring mechanisms.

Who it concerns: Government of Madhya Pradesh, specifically the Madhya Pradesh State Employment Guarantee Council (MPSEGC) and local bodies including District, Block, and Gram Panchayats.

What the auditor found

• Unpaid wages and material costs totaling ₹1217.05 crore as of March 31, 2024, including ₹54.79 crore in wages rejected due to Aadhaar mapping issues.
• Consistent underutilization of funds, peaking at ₹1703.80 crore in 2021-22.
• Irregular wage payments of ₹1.46 crore made on 2,426 duplicate, fake, or incorrect job cards.
• Only about 2% of households received the guaranteed 100 days of employment, while 31.21% to 46.60% received less than 40 days.
• ₹9.07 lakh in compensation for delayed wage payments remained unpaid out of a total liability of ₹35.13 lakh.
• Failure to conduct baseline surveys, prepare State-Specific IEC Plans, or set up Block Resource Centres in selected areas.
• Shortage of staff and non-appointment of dedicated Programme Officers at State, District, Block, and Gram Panchayat levels.
• Inadmissible works such as private wells dug in semi-critical or over-exploited regions.
• Recommendations include ensuring data integrity, timely filling of vacant posts, reviewing wage rates against market standards, and promoting participation of women and persons with disabilities.

Also in the document

• CAG found that the core objective of the scheme was significantly missed, with only around 2% of households receiving the full 100 days of guaranteed employment during 2019-24.
• A liability of ₹1217.05 crore for unpaid wages and materials remained pending as of March 2024.
• CAG noted that MGNREGS wage rates were consistently lower than prevailing market wage rates during the audit period, which was attributed as a reason for the shortfall in employment.