8 years on, Lokayukta probe into old MGNREGA works gathers pace

More than eight years after the government requested the Lokayukta to probe the MGNREGA works carried out in the state between 2007 and 12, investigations into 5.04 lakh works have gone nowhere.

During the five years, works worth over Rs 2,000 crore were done under the Karnataka under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), highly placed sources said.

In 2014, a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India flagged discrepancies in the implementation of MGNREGA works taken up between 2007 and 2012.

The report pointed out that the names of nearly 8.23 lakh workers were removed from the Management Information System between 2008 and 2012.

That raised suspicion since close to Rs 617.74 crore was billed under these names before they were removed.

There were also discrepancies in the payments for works that amounted to Rs 1,717 crore, because payments were made without making a mention of the contractor.

Following the report, the government directed the Lokayukta to conduct a detailed investigation of all the works taken up during that period.

However, the Lokayukta investigations didn’t make much headway. Lokayukta officials faced challenges in accessing documents. Inspecting the areas of work also held up the process.

There were also many instances of government officials “deliberately destroying” the documents, stalling the investigation indefinitely, Lokayukta sources said. Many deadlines to complete the investigations passed, the latest being September 2022.

Karnataka Lokayukta Justice B S Patil, who took office in June 2022, is trying to expedite the probe.

Patil told DH that he had directed the investigating officers to identify officials and hold them responsible in case of missing records.

“In cases where the records are missing, we have asked them to file reports identifying the officials responsible for maintaining them. This way, we will be able to close investigations into many pending works,” Justice Patil said.

The other challenge is determining the quality and the real nature of works done 10-15 years ago, an official said.

“Many officials have been transferred while many others have retired. The papers and records do not reflect the entire story and without questioning the incharge officials, it gets difficult for investigating officers to draw conclusions,” a senior official said.

Staff shortage and growing caseload on the Lokayukta have also stalled the process, sources said.

Justice Patil, however, said they were holding regular meetings and giving officials a target.

“Investigations have picked up pace. We hope to complete them soon,” he said.