Union Minister Pralhad Joshi
Credit: PTI Photo
Bengaluru: Union Minister for Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi on Thursday alleged that corruption worth Rs 11 lakh crore had taken place in MGNREGA during UPA’s tenure.
Addressing a news conference, the minister said, “The Congress has not denied these allegations pertaining to its tenure. According to the CAG report of 2013, there were 4.33 lakh fake job cards in the country. Earlier, work was being done using JCB machines. To put an end to all these illegalities and loopholes, we have brought the VB G RAM G Act.”
Defending the Act, Joshi said, “To prevent such illegal and widespread corruption, the central government has implemented the G RAM G Act. Under this, AI technology and GPS tracking have been introduced and the quality of work will be monitored. This has become a headache for Congress and those who were siphoning money from MGNREGA, forcing them to oppose it”
He said, “Congress is saying that giving 60 days of leave to labourers under G RAM G will harm agriculture. Were they given 365 days of work during UPA’s tenure?”
Joshi said, in the UPA rule, there was no digital payment for MGNREGA workers.
Under VB G RAM G, wages must be paid within 14 days. Otherwise, penalties will be imposed. The monitoring responsibility has been given to gram panchayats. Work details must be disclosed every week. Whoever commits mistakes will be punished. Transparency has been systematically brought in, Joshi said.
On Karnataka, Joshi said, “In 10 years, we gave Rs 8.53 lakh crore to the state under MGNREGA. During Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s tenure, the highest corruption in MGNREGA happened in the state. Even
80-year-old people were shown as laborers to draw money.”