Lokayukta cases filed against officials for misuse of MGNREGA funds have been kept pending five to six years with little progress in investigations, the House Committee on Local Bodies and Panchayat Raj Institutions has found.
The panel’s report, tabled in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, expressed strong objections against the government for letting the errant officials go scot-free and for failing to initiate disciplinary action against them. The government recovered only the losses causes by their alleged irregularities, the Committee said.
It has recommended strict disciplinary action against such officials to prevent similar cases. “Measures should be taken to initiate action as per law against officials, apart from recovering the money (with interest) misused by the officials as soon as Lokayukta submitted its report on the cases being probed by the agency,” the report said.
In the future, if any official is found to have misused funds, “ (The) government should take swift measures to ensure that action against errant officials is initiated within six months,” the Committee said.
It noted that the delays by Lokayukta police in completing the probe have allowed officials to wiggle out of penal action against them.
“As a result, the Committee recommends fixing a time limit to complete all cases taken up by the Lokayukta,” it said.
In the report, the G Somashekar Reddy-led committee highlighted several cases filed against officials in 2014-15, on which Lokayukta was yet to submit its report.
‘Irresponsible Ombudsmen’
It also raised concerns on ‘irresponsible’ district ombudsmen, who as investigating officials, failed in their responsibility of addressing the grievances of MGNREGA beneficiaries, and filing preliminary reports against officials. “The Committee is of the view that the government issue directions for such ombudsmen to discharge their duties independently and without bias.”
The 24-member Committee reviewed several cases of irregularities and complaints received by the government over implementation of MGNREGA, based on a 2013 CAG report.
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