Rajasthan owes ₹2014.39 crore in MGNREGA wages and materials, CAG finds

This audit examined the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the Government of Rajasthan for the period from 2019-20 to 2023-24. It reviewed planning, financial management, employment generation, execution of works, and monitoring systems.

Government of Rajasthan (specifically the implementation of MGNREGA across selected districts, Panchayat Samitis, and Gram Panchayats).

• Baseline surveys were not conducted in any test-checked Gram Panchayats (GPs) during 2019-24, preventing realistic development planning.
• District Perspective Plans were not prepared in any test-checked districts.
• Block Resource Centres (BRCs) were not set up in any selected blocks, leaving GPs without technical support for planning.
• Staff shortages ranged from 3% to 64% for regular staff and 31% to 80% for contractual staff across all levels.
• 100% of regular Block Resource Persons (BRPs) and Village Resource Persons (VRPs) posts were vacant at the State level as of July 2024.
• Delayed release of funds by the State Government created an interest liability of ₹9.08 crore for 2019-20 and 2020-21.
• Pending liability for wages and material component was ₹2014.39 crore as of September 2025, with ₹1892.67 crore specifically for the material component.
• Only 7.15% to 16.33% of households that availed employment received the guaranteed 100 days of work.
• 21% of works approved (19.74 lakh works) were incomplete as of September 2025, with 8% of these pending for more than three years.
• 88% of the 11.36 lakh works approved under convergence were incomplete as of September 2025.
• ₹948.54 crore in wage payments (2.82% of transactions) were made with delays of 16 days to over 90 days.
• ₹52.91 lakh in unemployment allowance was pending as of July 2025.
• 80% of compensation claims for delayed wages were rejected.
• Recovery of financial irregularities pointed out in social audits was only 23.58% at the state level.
• Recommendations include conducting baseline surveys, preparing District Perspective Plans, and appointing adequate trained VRPs and BRPs.

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