The central rural development team found major irregularities in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) during inspection in Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh. The team also discovered fudging and manipulation of official data by the local authorities.

The central team found “purchases worth Rs. 8,06,03,229, as fraudulent in nature and requested to examine from the angle of criminal conspiracy.” The team has asked the union ministry to inquire into the project cost.

The project has been running in phases since 2009-10 in which the total cost of the material incurred is Rs 9,39,29,229. A total sum of Rs 2,46,82,425 was spent on the purchase of the cement, Rs 3,64,78,144 on bricks, Rs 1,90,76,067 on sand, and Rs 1,28,93,589 on brick ballast and other material purchase in the project.

Ironically, all the items used in this project were purchased from the open market instead of the Pariyojna Bhandar Khand which is the designate market. In fact, the material used was bought without any official tender given to the local authorities. According to the report, the local authorities inflated the rates of these items deliberately. In few cases, payment was made even before the delivery of the item used in the project.

Interestingly, central team reveals that there are two different rates given by the same firm for supplying the same material of the same quantity and that too on the same day.

The team also reports that the data manipulation in various entries was done in connivance with the local officials. However, the local officials passed this as management of information system (MIS) problem. “It is a systematic and whole scale fraud and should be investigated by the CAG,” said the report submitted to union rural development ministry by the team.

In the case of canal construction, the team found major anomalies in the purchase of material for Barauli Rajbaha canal line. The report said, “The construction of canal does not comply with the government’s guidelines”. The team also questioned several things purchased under the rural scheme. The team which inspected the site said no bamboo was used in the canal construction project. On the contrary, the data showed purchase of bamboo for the same project.

The three member central rural development team visited Tirgaon gram panchayat in block Harakh and Sarthara gram panchayat in Banki block from 27 october to 30th October in Barabanki district.

Governance Now had highlighted wide range malpractices and embezzlement of MNREGS schemes running in the state in its October 16-31 issue.

The rural development ministry took cognizance on the magazine report and formed a three – member central team to inspect the site in the state. B.C. Bahera, P. Manoj and D.K. Singh of rural development ministry were the team members who inspected the district.

After Governance Now unearthed the scam, the central rural development ministry had written letter to UP chief minister Mayawati demanding a CBI probe into the implementation of MNREGS in seven districts of the state. However, the state termed Ramesh’s letter as politically motivated.

Ramesh had also written letter to minister for department of personnel and training, V. Narayansamy, on October 13, referring to the article published in Governance Now highlighting the widespread misappropriation of funds and gross violation of MNREGS funds in the state. He also demanded a CBI probe in the MNREGS scam in Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh has received Rs. 5,266 crore in 2010-11 for MNREGS.