Accounting faux pas has officials worked up

Exercise held to verify, update accounts of funds spent under MGNREGS

Officials gathered at the zilla panchayat (ZP) auditorium in the city on Wednesday had just one thing on their mind, accounting. 

The management information system (MIS) not being updated had led to a wrong message being to conveyed to the government with regard to the availability of funds with the ZP for undertaking works under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

The government wrote to the ZP that it still had Rs 30.57 crore in the accounts under MGNREGS for 2010-11 and 2011-12 and hence, could not ask for more funds.

The government sought proper account details. The nodal officers of all the five taluks, the Gram Panchayat development officers (PDOs) and the secretaries were busy setting the records straight and updating the accounts.

The MIS figures were tallied with the bank pass books and the cash books. It was found that works had been undertaken and the money released, but the same had not been updated in the MIS. Srinivaspur nodal officer Mohan Kumar told Deccan Herald that they were updating expenditure details in the MIS.

Other anomalies too came to the fore. Funds had been released to the wrong GPs in many cases, said the Bangarpet nodal officer Badanur. While Karahalli GP did not get the Rs 10 lakh that was sought, the Kamasamudra GP got Rs 8 lakh more.  All these anomalies were set right during the daylong exercise on Wednesday.

The painstaking efforts paid off. The accounts could be updated for the expenditure of Rs 19.07 crore by afternoon. The remainder of the funds came down to Rs 11.5 crore from Rs 30.57 crore.  Officials said that they would see to it that every pie spent under MGNREGS would be accounted for in the MIS by evening, even if it meant working overtime. The officials hope to give a correct picture to the government, so that more funds come forth. The discrepancy figures for the taluks are: Bangarpet - Rs 77.7 lakh, Kolar - Rs 6.34 crore, Malur Rs 1.38 crore and Srinivaspur - Rs 1.49 crore.