The Hindu : New Delhi News : Now CAG to audit rural job scheme

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Thursday, Apr 28, 2011
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Now CAG to audit rural job scheme

K. Balchand

Implementing agency of MGNREGS will have nothing to do with audit process

NEW DELHI: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India will henceforth annually audit the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) accounts and the report would be tabled in Parliament.

Under the notified new social audit rules of MGNREGS, the CAG or any person appointed by him will certify the annual accounts of the State and submit the same, along with the audit report, to the Central Government, which in turn will lay it in both Houses of Parliament.

The highlight of the notification issued by the Union Rural Development Ministry is that the implementing agency of MGNREGS will have nothing to do with the audit process. Such agencies have been barred from interfering with the social audit process to be taken up at gram sabha level. But it will be the duty of the implementing agency to provide the requisite information to the auditing directorate.

As per the notification, the audits will be conducted at the district and gram panchayat levels besides State level.

The audit for each district will be done every six months by the Director, Local Fund Audit, or by chartered accountants appointed from the list provided by the CAG, which will lay down the format and structure of the audit.

The Accountant-General of the State will, with his comments, forward the audit report to the CAG, which enjoys the power to conduct the audit of the accounts of the scheme at such frequency as it may deem fit.

To conduct social audits, the States are required to establish a Directorate of Audit to facilitate and oversee the audit process and serve as coordinator between the State government and the CAG. The Centre would bear the cost of setting up such a directorate.

All those entrusted with implementation of schemes under the Act will have to be present at the social audit gram sabha, which will be headed by a person not directly or indirectly involved in implementation of the scheme under the Act.

The social audit reports will be pasted in the local language on the notice board of the gram panchayat along with the action taken report. Persons found involved in irregularities shall be named in these reports as also the action taken or under process against them clearly indicated. It will be the job of the district programme coordinator to ensure appropriate corrective action including initiating criminal or civil proceedings.

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