NREGA funds being diverted to buy SUVs: Ramesh
13 Feb 2012
Lashing out strongly against the misuse of funds allotted by the centre to the states for implementing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh said these were not meant for officials to buy themselves expensive cars.
He said in the Assam capital of Guwahati on Sunday that anomalies in the utilisation of the funds are surfacing in various states of the country.
"It has been found that many panchayats are misusing the funds allotted for MNREGA. The funds are being used to buy high-end SUVs instead of being given to the intended beneficiaries," Ramesh said at a gram unnayan sammelan (meeting of village-level heads) organised by the state's panchayat and rural development department.
''NREGA is not a scheme to buy Boleros and Pajeros (high-end SUV models), it is to develop roads,'' Ramesh said.
''It is a scheme to help the poor villagers with a 100-day work guarantee and payment for their labour. Many scams around the MNREGA funds have surfaced. I appeal, particularly to women, to stand against such mismanagement of funds in their villages," he added.
Though Ramesh clarified that the statement was not targeted at Assam, he did say that as the state receives significant funds under scheme, the money should be properly used, considering that 2,200 panchayats in Assam get at least Rs1 crore each under the scheme.
