Guidelines for MNREGA-2 by end of May,says Ramesh

Admitting that MNREGA has its share of corruption and irregularities,Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said guidelines for the revamped version of the Centres flagship rural development programme would be in place by May-end

Admitting that MNREGA has its share of corruption and irregularities,Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said on Sunday guidelines for the revamped version of the Centres flagship rural development programme would be in place by May-end.

The minister said 30 new activities had been added in MNREGA-2,of which 27 were related to agriculture. An expert committee led by Planning Commission member Mihir Shah had studied the schemes progress and made recommendations to make it more productive.

The Comptroller and Auditor General CAG will audit the MNREGA expenditure in 12 states accounting for nearly 85 per cent of the schemes outlay,the minister said,emphasising that the list included Congress-ruled states to counter the criticism that only Opposition-ruled states were targeted.

Even though the relations between the CAG and our government are not exactly good,we are for performance audit by the national auditor, said the minister.

I cant cross a certain Laxman rekha. My only weapon is to write repeatedly to the state governments; its for them to punish the corrupt, the minister said,alleging that most states pulled their punches while cracking the whip on corruption.

In a federal structure,the minister said,it was the Centres responsibility to collect money and it couldnt claim to own it,but it had a right to question how the states spent it and to stop scams.

Ramesh praised Andhra Pradesh for its effective social audit which resulted in the unearthing of a Rs 120-crore scam,out of which Rs 30 crore has been recovered and those responsible for it corruption suspended.

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The minister singled out Uttar Pradesh as being the worst performer,saying his recommendation for a CBI inquiry into MNREGA corruption was ignored. Corruption in a scheme of this size cant be wished way,it exists even in AP. Sarpanches in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh,who were riding bicycles and bikes,now own Pajeros and Boleros, he said,taking a dig at states who want the Lokpal but not an ombudsman for MNREGA.

In response to a question on the proposal to give foodgrains as wages in view of the bumper procurement estimates,he said he was completely against the idea. It has not worked in the past, he said.