Farmers demand CBI probe into IAY and MGNREGA funds

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, May 31: The Krishak Sramik Unyan Parishad, Asom (KSUPA) has moved Prime Minister rendra Modi with a missive seeking CBI inquiry into, what it said, the rampant anomalies in the spending of central funds meant for MGNREGA and IAY by Dispur since 2001.

In a statement issued to the press today, KSUPA president Pradip Kalita said that it had sent a memorandum to the Prime Minister seeking CBI inquiry into the large-scale anomalies in spending of MGNREGA and IAY funds in Assam since 2001.

According to Kalita, records of the State government show that Rs 6,800 crore was released by the Centre under the IAY from fiscal 2001-02 to 2014-15 for 27 districts of the State. The State government records also show that the entire amount – Rs 6,800 crore – has been utilized. “The ground reality, however, is that around 10  lakh people who are shown as IAY beneficiaries are yet to get any IAY houses. There are also cases of three/four IAY houses issued against the same person. This shows that there has been gross misuse of IAY funds in Assam,” Kalita said.

According to Kalita, the Centre released Rs 4,870 crore from 2008 to 2015 under the MGNREGA, and Dispur claims to have used the entire amount. “Our field visits, however, have revealed that the entire amount has not gone to the job card holders in the State. Around 30 per cent MGNREGA work was done in the state against the Dispur’s claim in an RTI reply that 100 per cent of the Central funds under MGNERGA has been used,” Kalita said, and demanded of the Prime Minister to order CBI inquiry into the entire episode.