Less than a week after extending National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in all rural districts, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday admitted to loopholes and leakages in the implementation of the UPA’s flagship programme.

“If the scheme (NREGS) is implemented honestly and sincerely, it would increase the rural income and we will be able to soften very considerably, the harsh edges of extreme poverty…But there are leakages and administrative inadequacies,” the Prime Minister said while addressing a meeting organised by the Indian Language Newspapers Association (ILNA) in the Capital.

The Prime Minister said it was the duty of the media and civil society to highlight weaknesses in the implementation of a scheme such as NREGS.

The Prime Minister’s candid admission came close on the heels of the findings of an NGO survey last Saturday about poor execution and red-tapism in the implementation. The survey by Delhi based NGO-Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) has revealed that only six per cent of households registered for work under NREGS had got 100 days of employment in the first year of the scheme’s implementation.

As per a recent report compiled by the Union Rural Development Ministry, 16 major cases of embezzlement of funds, involving several crores of rupees have been unearthed in 14 states. The latest one refers to the alleged misuse of Rs 400 crore NREGS funds in Orissa. Maximum misuse of funds reported in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Orissa, and the ministry is awaiting detailed report from states ascertain the factual position.