An incident of fraud in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has surfaced in Malhar village of the Yadgir district of Karnataka. According to reports, some men dressed in sarees and posed as women to claim wages under the MGNREGA scheme.
Men dressed as women to claim benefits worth ₹ 3 lakh
A picture was reportedly uploaded in February this year on the National Mobile Monitoring Service (NMMS), an attendance monitoring system, in which some men and women labourers were seen standing near a canal dredging site. However, it was later revealed that the women labourers in the picture were men masquerading as women. These men were reportedly employed in place of women under the MGNREGA scheme, and misleading attendance photos were uploaded to show that women labourers were provided employment. Illegitimate benefits worth ₹3 lakh were reportedly claimed under the scheme by defrauding the government and depriving women labourers of employment opportunities.
Local Panchayat denies involvement
The incident caused much embarrassment to the concerned officials, and an investigation was ordered into the matter. The local gram panchayat denied having information about the scam and defended the concerned officials, alleging that some outsourced workers were involved in the incident. “I have no role in this case. An outsourced employee did this, I was unaware of the entire scam. When it came to my notice, I suspended the employee. Now, the MGNREGA work is going seamlessly in the village. We have given work to 2,500 workers,” Chennabasava, Panchayat Development Officer of the Malhar village, said.
What is MGNREGA?
MGNREGA is a social welfare scheme to address unemployment and poverty in rural areas. It is a centrally sponsored scheme where the centre and the state share the funding and implementation responsibilities. The scheme guarantees 100 days of employment annually to every eligible rural household. The funds for the wages are provided entirely by the central government, while 75% of the material cost is borne by the centre, and the remaining 25% is borne by the state.
