CAG finds 18.26 lakh households missed MGNREGS employment in Chhattisgarh

It assessed planning, employment generation, financial management, and monitoring to ensure accountability and livelihood security.

Who it concerns: Government of Chhattisgarh, specifically the Panchayat and Rural Development Department (PRDD) and the Chhattisgarh Rural Employment Guarantee Council.

What the auditor found

• EPF contributions of ₹29.62 crore remained unpaid for April 2015 to March 2023, resulting in accumulated liabilities of ₹84.59 crore including penalty and interest.
• ₹2.22 crore budgeted for unemployment allowances during 2019-24 was entirely surrendered with no expenditure incurred, despite a shortfall of 18.26 lakh households not receiving employment.
• Only ₹42.55 crore out of ₹58.68 crore earmarked for Social Audit was utilized, and 45% of sanctioned posts in the Social Audit Unit remained vacant.
• 86% of works in test-checked Gram Panchayats were undertaken without mandatory Gram Sabha approval.
• 97% shortfall in training and capacity-building initiatives against targets.
• 21% human resource shortage, particularly of technical assistants and Gram Rozgar Sahayaks.
• Recommendations include notifying baseline household data, ensuring Gram Sabha approval for works, timely wage disbursement, and providing adequate manpower for social audits.

Also in the document

• CAG found that 18.26 lakh households (12% of demand) did not receive the guaranteed employment, and no unemployment allowances were paid to them despite budgetary provisions.
• CAG noted that the monitoring framework was largely non-functional, with statutory bodies like the Chhattisgarh Rural Employment Guarantee Council not holding mandated meetings.
• CAG reported that up to 99.97% of Gram Panchayats were left unaudited in some years, and over 53% of Social Audit observations remained unaddressed.
• CAG identified that only 61% of works sanctioned during 2019-24 were completed as of October 2024, with instances of idle or non-functional assets found during physical verification.