Malik Sajid
Srinagar: The centrally sponsored Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme (MNREGA) is again in the eye of storm as revelations suggest a major scam in the Scheme in North Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
A reply to an RTI filed by Kashmir Scenario has thrown up some embarrassing revelations before the public. Hundreds of fake job cards have been issued to embezzle croroe of rupees aimed at providing a minimum of 100 work days a year to rural poor unemployed youth.
Instead of providing jobs to the unemployed persons, job cards have been issued to government employees, pensioners, businessmen, Panchs, Saprpanchs and other well off people. The officials in the department have also issued multiple job cards in favor of a single person.
In one such example in Drugmulla village, one job card has been issued to Arif Nisar Shah under card No. JK0100101300011603/1146. Shah is son of a Police officer. Similarly two cards have been issued to Ahmadullah Shah who is a shopkeeper in Kupwara JK0100101300011603131-C and 115. Farooq Ahmad Shah.
Another card holder(JK0100101300011603/140C is a government employee, while job card No JK001000101300011603/100 belongs to the chairman of a private school-Javid Ahmad Makhdomi- in Drugmulla Kupwara. Job cards have also been issued to pensioners. Javid Ahmad Shah is a student. Three job cards have been issued in his favor under number JK0100101300011603/138-C, 144-C and 74.
Gul Magrey of the same village is a retired official of R&B department and has been provided a job cards under number JK0100101300011603/16
This major irregularity in implementation of MNREGA in Kupwara surfaced when the records related to it were provided to this newspaper after filing application under RTI. However the concerned BDO presented only selected details which constituted only 20perecent of the questions the newspaper posed to the department.
After a wait of two months, Instead of providing related details, the department has dispatched annual report meant for review meetings and details which are already available on the internet.
Fearing expose of the scam, the department was not able to provide the details of IAY, CDF and details of job cards. Sources in the department said the scam is just tip of an iceberg as there are more major scams in the other schemes too.
Though the primary purpose of this scheme is to enhance the livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to a rural house hold and help rural economy grow by boosting rural connectivity, irrigation and agriculture productivity.
However residents of Kupwara and adjoining villages said the scheme has failed bitterly in the village owing to corruption with impunity to the officers.
Villagers allege that the officials of Block Development facilitate the making of job cards in favor of their blue eyed persons to grab money meant for the poor. “If probed sincerely, the scheme will overshadow all previous scams of the state,” said an official of the department wishing not to be named.
For a job card, the petition in this regard is given in panchayat and the block programme officers and Village Level Workers, working at panchayat level enrolled for it. But the panchayat members also have panchayats to cross-check the names before registering and issuing the job-cards.
It is for VLWs, Panchs, Sarpanch and block programme officers to monitor the issuance of job-cards. But it appears all levels of hierarchy are involved in the scam as even Sarpanchs have been issued the job cards.
Cards are given to people, especially poorest of the poor, as it is on its basis that they get work, wages and unemployment allowance.
Villagers said the concerned Village Level Workers (VLWs) and other officers are together making money out of the scheme.
On one hand Job cards are issued to rich people while on the other hand those who genuinely work are not given wages on time, instead the money is transferred to the account holders of those fake card holders and poor, needy continue to suffer.
“They don’t mark attendance on our job cards but come with a separate dairy to mark attendance,” said a young worker Gulzar Ahmad. “They do so to embezzle the funds”.
“People who have worked under the scheme are being paid few days while rest of the amount is being transferred to some others who never worked,” villagers wooed. “Despite complaints to the authorities, nothing positive happened,” he added.
When Kashmir Scenario contacted a person in whose favor a job card was issued, surprisingly the person was even unaware of the scheme and he was shocked to hear that a job card has been issued in his name. “Somebody took my photograph once and said BDO office is giving some funds to the people,” he said. “This happened despite the fact that I had never applied for the job under this scheme,” he added.
According to the sources the job cards are given to “known” people and then money is transferred to them and later reimbursed after making after getting a hefty commission.
“Someone came and took money in my name and I didn’t even know I was enrolled for work under NREGA,” said another shopkeeper Ali Mohammad who said that last year a job card was issue under his name and money was drawn by someone else. “The scheme is similar to issuance of fake SIMs, people used to use identity card and photograph of other people to get SIMs and same thing is happening in NREGA,” he alleged.
The concerned BDO refused to provide Xerox copies of job cards and photographs of the persons in whose favor the job cards have been issued. “Whatever information I had, I provided that,” Hilal Arfat, BDO Kupwara.
Villagers said the benefit under the scheme have mostly gone to well of individuals “who could feed feasts to the officers,” they alleged. “Due to corruption, little has been contributed towards boosting rural economy. Instead we were left starved by working without wages”.
An official of the department said that the process is being followed almost throughout the State in connivance with Block Development Officers, Panchayat Secretaries, Accounts Officers and some Panchayat representatives.
Blaming the authorities of setting free the officers without accountability, villagers said the scheme has failed to benefit the unemployed youth of valley.
“It is modern day forced labor, the officers of the block development act like Maharajas and don’t listen to our pleas,” said an elderly person.
Local Civil Society members said the lack of accountability in the government has given impunity to the officers. “Its very difficult for government to audit the scheme,” said Mohammad Arif, a social worker in Srinagar.
Arif said the local NGOs should intervene by doing social audits which is only solution to expose these scams.
“In Bihar many big scams were exposed after social auditing by a group of civil society members,” he added.
He said much is being talked about corruption but less is being done on ground to check the menace. “We should audit these schemes ourselves and expose them,” he added. “By this the officials will be alert that any wrong step will be caught during the audit, thus deserved will get his due share”.
When contacted Director Rural Development, he said to share the details with him in office and he will take action against the officials.
Minister of State for Rural Development vikar Rasool also said to share information with him and he will take action against the officials.
BOX
1.) Instead of providing jobs to the unemployed persons, job cards have been issued to government employees, pensioners, businessmen, Panchs, Sarpanchs and other well off people.
2.) It is modern day forced labor, the officers act like Maharajas and don’t listen to our pleas: Locals
3.) Share information with us, we will take action: Minister
4.) Go for Social auditing to check corruption: Civil Society