'8 IAS officers guilty of Rs 500 cr NREG scam'

The Pioneer, Sept 20, 2008
Pionner News Service Bhubaneswar

The Centre for Environment and Food Security (CEFS) has sought immediate dismissal of eight IAS officers for their alleged conspiracy to cover up the "Rs 500-crore NREGS (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) scam in Orissa." The New Delhi-based NGO has faxed a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking action against these officers.
As stated CEFS Director Parshuram Rai, the 'conspiracy' of the officials is apparent in view of the recently released National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD) Social Audit report, which found massive corruption and serious irregularities in the implementation of the NREGS in the State. The report says that during 2006-07 and 2007-08, "more than 58 per cent of the reported wage payments are bogus." "If we take 2006-07 alone, 67 per cent of the reported wage payments did not reach workers," it says, while claiming that its own survey too had said exactly this.
The CEFS has pointed that as per the NIRD report, 88 per cent of the reported wage payments are bogus in Kalahandi district, 89 per cent in Malkangiri district, 75 per cent in Koraput, Keonjhar and Dhenkanal districts, 73 per cent in Nawarangpur district, 59 per cent in Nuapada district, 57 per cent in Balangir district and 53 per cent in Rayagada district.
According to the NIRD report, "It is a matter of concern that all the KBK districts which are the poorest and backward districts in the State showed worst record of performance. In the case of KBK region (Balangir, Kalahandi, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada), only 26 per cent of the reported wage payments actually reached workers." This means that in the KBK region 74 per cent of the reported wage payments were siphoned off, according to Rai.
The CEFS carried out a rapid assessment of the performance of the NREGS in the State during May-June 2007. The survey was conducted in 100 villages spread over six districts of the KBK region - Balangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Rayagada. About 75 per cent of the NREGS funds in the KBK districts were siphoned off during 2006-07.
"However, when we extrapolated this figure for the whole State, we had said that of Rs 733 crore spent under the NREGS in Orissa, about Rs 500 crore (67 per cent) was siphoned off," Rai said.
The CEFS survey report was formally released on August 17, 2007 and on August 20, 2007, after which the Chief Minister called a high-level meeting and ordered an assessment of the NREGS works by the Hyderabad-based NIRD. The NIRD social audit report, which was submitted to the Government about a month ago, confirmed almost everything that was revealed in the CEFS survey. The NIRD conducted its survey through social audit in 40 gram panchayats selected in 19 districts.
Immediately after the release of the CEFS report, the Union Ministry of Rural Development had asked the State Government to conduct a detailed official inquiry into the Rs 500-crore NREGS scam. After the probe, the State Government informed the Ministry that "there is no discrepancy between the work done, the records kept and the payment according to muster roll. No case of misappropriation was noticed. Quality of work was found to be good."
"This inquiry report had also stated that CEFS survey findings were bogus and baseless. This inquiry was reportedly conducted by RN Das (Secretary-cum-Commissioner, Department of Panchayati Raj, Orissa Government, Saswat Mishra (Director, Special Projects, Department of Panchayati Raj, and the then district Collectors of Balangir, Kalahandi, Koraput, Nuapada, Nabarangpur and Rayagada," Rai has said in his statement.
"In the light of the NIRD social audit report, it is clear that every single finding of the CEFS survey report was correct and the Orissa Government's official inquiry team submitted an absolutely false and fabricated report to MoRD giving clean chit to all the guilty officials of Orissa. Therefore, all the eight IAS officers of this inquiry team are not only guilty of conspiracy to cover up the Rs 500-crore NREGS scam and thereby depriving millions of poor and hungry citizens of their constitutionally guaranteed right to employment, they have also misled the whole nation in general and the Government of India (MoRD) in particular," Rai has stated.