By IANS,
Shimla : The Himachal Pradesh government has not allocated works properly under central government’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), the Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) has said.
This has resulted in the non-execution of adequate number of works, the CAG observed in its report tabled on the last day of the state assembly April 8.
“Works were not taken up as the per the priority list during 2005-10 but rural connectivity, which was at the bottom in the priority list, was given top priority.
“This led to non-execution of adequate number of works such as drought proofing, afforestation and soil and water conservation for addressing the chronic cause of poverty and strengthening the natural resource base of rural livelihood,” the report said.
According to the CAG, out of the total expenditure of Rs.1,008.87 crore incurred on works, Rs.471.56 crore (47 percent) pertained to low priority road construction works.
However, only two percent of the total amount was spent on afforestation and plantation. This was listed second from the top of the priority list of the central government.
Besides these, the state has irregularly spent Rs.19.19 crore on works not permissible under MNREGA in nine out of the 12 selected blocks, the CAG observed.
These are construction of cremation grounds, rain shelters, kitchen sheds in schools and footpaths.
But the CAG was satisfied with the state’s performance over providing sufficient working days to the womenfolk.
During 2005-10, the state generated 617.70 lakh persondays of employment by spending Rs.1,039.63 crore, benefitting 4.97 lakh rural households.
However, the CAG noted, wages of Rs.97.45 lakh were paid to the workers with delays ranging from 15 to 90 days against the maximum prescribed period of a fortnight.
Even no compensation was paid to the labourers for delayed payment, said the report.
Likewise, the inspection of ongoing works at state, district and block levels was poor.
The report directed the state government to ensure timely release of its share in MNREGA to streamline the financial management and utilisation of funds.
Agriculture is the main occupation of the Himachali people, providing direct employment to 69 percent of the state’s workforce.