TURA, July 31: Social activist Cherian Momin on Thursday alleged various anomalies in the implementation of MGNREGA works under Demdema Block in West Garo Hills urging authorities to look into the matter.
A complaint in this regard was submitted by Momin to Mission Director of State Rural Employment Society, SC Sadhu where he demanded a high level inquiry into the matter.
According to Momin, a community-based inquiry conducted by the Confederation of Meghalaya Civil Society Organizations (CoMSO) revealed countless anomalies in the working and implementation of the scheme under the block.
“These inquiries have led to disturbing patterns indicating that not only are hundreds of Job Cards possibly fictitious or fraudulently issued, but substantial sums of money sanctioned for material components under MGNREGA works have potentially been diverted, misappropriated, or shown on paper while the physical works remain incomplete, shoddy, or entirely non-existent,” Momin claimed.
Momin alleged the violation of fundamental MGNREGA norms pertaining to transparency, public planning, and financial accountability. As per him, job Cards appear to have been issued without proper Gram Sabha consent, bypassing community selection processes, without household surveys, and often registered under names that either no longer reside in the area or do not fall under the legally eligible categories of rural poor, SC/ST, women-headed households, or landless workers.
According to Momin, multiple community witnesses, supported by photographic evidence, confirm that a significant number of sanctioned works under financial years 2023–2024 and 2024–2025 have either not commenced or remain at a negligible stage of progress, often below 30% of physical completion, even while material bills have been raised in full or near-full amounts. “There are also reports that technical estimates were not properly vetted by Junior Engineers (JEs) or that site inspections were either omitted or fabricated to meet submission deadlines. This creates a situation where funds released under the material component—meant to purchase construction goods, tools, equipment, and infrastructural inputs—have no tangible corresponding outcome on the ground,” he added.
