An interesting revelation that has come out of the investigation into the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) fund embezzlement scam involving Ghaziwali village a day after the DM Deepak Rawat brought the matter into public glare is the fact that a shop owner and some skilled workers were registered as beneficiaries of the scheme in the muster roll maintained by the VDO and the Gram Pradhan.
MNREGA’s objective is to enhance “livelihood security by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.” It is the gram sabhas which recommend works under the scheme. Aside from some skilled persons’ names having figured in the muster roll, there are 35 fake names. The eligible among those registered in the muster roll said that they had not worked for any such project for which funds were allotted under the scheme. Interestingly, despite the DM having suspended VDO Rajendra Rana and given order for an FIR to be filed against the gram pradhan and a junior engineer, no complaint has been lodged so far.
DM said that he had acted after some villagers had complained to him that an amount to the tune of Rs 7000 had been deposited in their bank accounts under the scheme without their having done any work under the said scheme. “They further said that the works were completed by a local businessman to protect his land. While on physical inspection tour in Gajiwali village on Tuesday, I found around 33 fake names have got into roll while some villagers whose names were registered in the roll denied having done any work. Besides, intriguingly, a girl who runs a beauty parlour in the village and two BEd and ITI students figured in the register. While I suspended the VDO an order was issued to lodge a complaint against the gram pradhan and some other officers.”