SRINAGAR — Nearly 74 per cent of the works taken up under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Jammu and Kashmir between 2019-20 and 2023-24 remained incomplete, with ₹1,897.10 crore already incurred on the unfinished works, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
In its report for the period ending March 2024, the CAG said 27.14 lakh works had been planned under MGNREGA during the five-year period, of which 20.16 lakh were taken up for execution.
Only 5.34 lakh of the works taken up were completed, leaving 14.82 lakh incomplete, the audit found.
The CAG said the reasons for non-completion could not be established from the records made available to the audit.
The report was recently tabled by the Jammu and Kashmir Government in the Legislative Assembly.
₹704 crore in pending liabilities
The audit also highlighted substantial pending liabilities under MGNREGA. As of March 2024, ₹704.39 crore remained unpaid.
This included ₹49.19 crore towards unskilled wages, ₹646.92 crore towards material and semi-skilled and skilled wages, and ₹8.28 crore in administrative expenses.
The CAG noted that against ₹1,333.25 crore spent on material, including skilled and semi-skilled wages, during 2019-20 to 2023-24, nearly half — ₹646.92 crore, or 49 per cent — remained outstanding.
The pending payments had remained unsettled for periods ranging from one to five years.
According to the audit, the prolonged pendency reflected shortcomings in financial management, particularly in settling payments related to material procurement and wages within the prescribed timelines.
Delays in transfer of MGNREGA funds
The CAG also flagged delays in the release of funds to the State Employment Guarantee Fund (SEGF).
As per the conditions attached to sanction orders issued by the Government of India, the UT administration was required to transfer MGNREGA funds to the SEGF within three to 15 days of receiving them.
Audit findings showed that the J&K Finance Department delayed the release of ₹2,150.39 crore to the SEGF on several occasions during 2019-20 to 2023-24, with delays ranging from four to 122 days.
The delays could have resulted in an interest liability of ₹44.18 crore, the CAG said, although records did not indicate that such interest had been claimed.
Over 3.16 lakh transactions rejected
The audit also found a large number of rejected transactions under MGNREGS in Jammu and Kashmir, with the majority involving wage payments to unskilled workers.
A total of 3,16,178 transactions were rejected between 2019-20 and 2023-24. Of these, 2,83,196 transactions, or around 90 per cent, related to unskilled workers’ wages amounting to ₹48.91 crore.
The audit attributed the rejections mainly to dormant bank accounts, changes in bank accounts, discrepancies in IFSC codes, incorrect bank account details and failure to link beneficiaries’ Aadhaar with their bank accounts.
Of the rejected transactions involving ₹77.24 crore, 2,67,321 transactions worth ₹65.45 crore were regenerated.
However, 40,349 transactions involving ₹8.26 crore were still pending at the bank level as of March 2024, with no reasons recorded for the delay.
Only 2% households got 100 days of work
The CAG also assessed whether MGNREGA was meeting one of its key objectives of providing up to 100 days of guaranteed wage employment annually to rural households.
During 2019-20 to 2023-24, 37,82,594 households demanded employment under the scheme, of which 34,99,449 households, or 93 per cent, were provided employment.
However, only 77,512 households — about two per cent of those that demanded work — received the mandated 100 days of employment during the five-year period.
The audit further observed that non-payment of wages, material costs and administrative charges due to rejected transactions had contributed to the accumulation of pending liabilities.
It also noted that vendors were facing difficulties as payments due to them had accumulated to several crores of rupees each year.
Follow Us
The Kashmir Pulse is now on Google News. Subscribe our Telegram channel and Follow our WhatsApp channel for timely news updates!
