HC orders inquiry over MNREGA funds swindle

The Madras High Court has ordered an inquiry into allegations that funds under the job guarantee scheme MGNREGA were misappropriated in the name of dead persons in Tamil Nadu's Perambalur district.

A bench of justices T S Sivagnanam and M Seshasayee also issued notices to the central and state governments besides others, including those overseeing the work related to digging of ponds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme(MGNREGA), in the Noothapur village.

The directive came on a public interest litigation petition filed by three residents of the village. They alleged that money had been paid in the name of persons of the village who were dead and without carrying out the pond work during 2015-17.

Directing the district collector to conduct an inquiry, the court noted that the assistant project officer has recorded statements from various persons.

The officer was directed to file a report to the district collector within a week. On receipt of the same, the collector shall make necessary inquiry and submit a report to the court, the bench said.

The petitioners were among the beneficiaries selected and identified among others during 2015-17 under the MNREGA scheme for digging ponds, their counsel submitted in the plea.

The scheme under MNGREGA envisages choosing small farmers, who own lands below 2.5 acres, and marginal farmers, who own lands below 5 acres, as beneficiaries in rural areas to dig ponds in their lands to harvest rain water.

The Junior Engineers and the Overseers of Panchayat Union, who were deputed to oversee the work, allegedly colluded with some persons with political influence and abused their power and misused the funds allocated for the said scheme in the village, the petition alleged.

The amount was misappropriated allegedly in the name of beneficiaries who had died long ago, it said.

To facilitate this, the 'overseers' and junior engineers allegedly fabricated revenue documents and misappropriated funds allocated for the scheme, it said.

The bench posted the matter for hearing on April 27.