Punish politicians guilty of NREGS abuse: Lok Satta

The Lok Satta Party today demanded that the Revenue Recovery Act be invoked to recover money from those who have misappropriated NREGS (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) funds.

Talking to the media, Lok Satta leaders Bhisetty Babji, V. Laxman Balaji, E. Chennaiah and Mrs. N. Saroja Devi pointed out that half of the nearly Rs.6000 crore the Union Government allocated to the State for the NREGS during the current financial year was going unutilized for want of proper planning. NREG works were under way only in a few districts like Anantapur, Chittoor, and Vizianagaram. The social auditing too was nominal.

The Lok Satta leaders regretted that the Government allowed politicians behind misappropriation of NREG funds to go scot-free and contented itself with suspending part-time field assistants. The irregularities in implementation range from selection of beneficiaries to claiming funds without undertaking works.

The Lok Satta demanded that the NREGS be extended to handloom weavers, who were starving for want of adequate work.

The party welcomed the Union Government constituting the Justice Srikrishna Committee to hold consultations with all stakeholders on the political situation in the State.