CAG finds 35 of 47 Assam village councils missed MGNREGA local body plans

It focused on the performance of the MGNREGA scheme and compliance audits across various departments.

Who it concerns: Government of Assam, specifically the Panchayat and Rural Development Department, Medical Education and Research Department, Public Works Departments, Tribal Affairs Department, Woman and Child Development Department, Water Resources Department, Finance Department, and Administrative Reforms and Training Department.

What the auditor found

• MGNREGA: Non-payment of wages to workers amounting to ₹16.51 crore.
• MGNREGA: Doubtful expenditure of ₹7.76 crore and diversion of funds of ₹6.19 crore.
• Tribal Affairs (Plain): Avoidable excess expenditure of ₹11.49 crore due to procurement above Maximum Retail Price.
• Tribal Affairs (Plain): Irregular expenditure of ₹9.92 crore due to payments released without ensuring receipt of items by beneficiaries.
• Woman and Child Development: Excess expenditure of ₹7.24 crore due to procuring rice from the open market instead of using allotted FCI rice.
• Public Works (Building & NH): Avoidable extra expenditure of ₹2.07 crore due to faulty estimates.
• Public Works (Roads): Undue financial benefit of ₹3.06 crore to a contractor due to failure to revise contract price despite reduced estimates.
• Public Works (Roads): Undue financial benefit of ₹1.25 crore to a contractor due to altered item rates in tender finalization.
• Administrative Reforms and Training Department: Wasteful expenditure of ₹213.52 lakh.
• Recommendations include timely release of funds, prompt resolution of wage payment failures, realistic work estimates, and strengthening grievance redressal mechanisms.

Also in the document

• CAG found that 35 out of 47 sampled Gaon Panchayats/Village Development Councils did not prepare Local Body plans for 2019-24, indicating a failure in the bottom-up planning approach for MGNREGA.
• CAG reported that 236 out of 720 complaints regarding MGNREGA remained pending as of December 2024, highlighting an inadequate grievance redressal mechanism.
• CAG noted that 18% of completed MGNREGA works in selected blocks had not been geotagged, contrary to guidelines.
• CAG identified that the Assam Society for Social Audit failed to meet its target of conducting social audits in every six months, with shortfalls ranging from 3% to 80% between 2019-24.