Tejmat Majhi of Talakot village in Nuapada district has kept a printed page of paper downloaded from MGNREGA website very carefully since 2014. The paper shows that `12,869 was spent for the development of his land under the flagship programme in the year 2014.
The recipients of the wage as per the papers were Haldhar Majhi, Manglu Majhi, Chhamani Chinda, Barua Majhi and Sumitra Majhi. “I don’t understand how the payments were made to these people, when no work has been done in my land,” said Tejmat.
The recipients of wages agree that they have received the payments. “But we handed over the amount to the Gram Sathi immediately after withdrawal of the amount from the bank,” they revealed.
Sugre Majhi of the village also has the same thing to reveal. “I received only `12, 000 instead of `22,878 as shown in the Muster Rolls. All of our family members worked hard, but our payment was transferred to the accounts of seven other persons, who never did the work,” alleged Sugre.
An analysis of the Muster Rolls of the land development works undertaken in the lands of 40 beneficiaries under the MGNREGS in 2013-14 reveals that a total of 104 such fake entries have been made in the name of 55 persons in the MRs, but wages have been transferred to their bank accounts.
“Total amount misappropriated in land development works through fake entries would be more than Rs 3 lakh,” said Hanuram Majhi of Belpatipada of Talakot village. The villagers had drawn the attention of the Collector to this in July, 2014 and the matter was inquired by a team of officials of Sinapali block office, which found truth in the allegation, but neither any action was taken against the fraudulent officials nor the were the differential payments made to the beneficiaries. The only action taken by the administration was removing the Gram Sathi who was from another village and one Rajendra Majhi of the village replaced him.
“We are induced by the officials to create such fake Muster Rolls (MR) to compensate for the expenses of fuel,” admitted Rajendra Majhi, Gram Sathi of Talakot. MRs of three tank works undertaken in last two years in Talakot village reveal that Rajendra has taken more than `1 lakh from earth works in last two years in this manner wherein the wages have been shown in the name of one Usa Rout (70), another Bimale Majhi (a cowherd woman) and two others, who have given their ATMs to Rajendra.
“The scenario of malpractices in Talakot is prevalent more or less in all the remote gram panchayats in Nuapada district under MGNREGS.
The Government must take exemplary action to punish the corrupt officials involved in the fund bungling as well as to check the corrupt practice,” said BJP Krushak Morcha president Sanjay Tiwari.