Deputy Chief Minister, K S Eshwarappa's decision to clear pending bills amounting to Rs 130 crore under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) for 2009-10 in Gulbarga district has raised eyebrows as many of the bills are believed to be bogus. Former Chief Minister, D. V. Sadananda Gowda, who was present at the drought review meeting at the Deputy Commissioner's office on Tuesday, reportedly explained to Mr Eshwarappa that the bills were not paid as their authenticity was in doubt.
“If the work had been genuinely carried out using labourers, there would not have been a problem in making the payment. But these bills belong to big contractors, who have either submitted bogus bills or carried out work using machinery which is against MNREGA norms. As we believe a big racket is involved, no payment has been made so far,” Mr Gowda said.The issue came up when Mr Eshwarappa, who holds the twin portfolios of revenue and rural development and panchayat raj, inquired about the implementation of MNREGA in Gulbarga district at the meeting.
ZP president, Deepaknag Punnashetty, said the scheme had been held up in the district as bills amounting to Rs 130 crore for the year 2009-10 had not been cleared. Confirming Mr Gowda's explanation, he said inspection carried out in his constituency had found that nearly 60 of the 82 works involving Rs 1.82 crore, were bogus. Deputy Commissioner, Dr Vishal too said he had been informed of many such instances of misuse himself. Mr Eshwarappa, however, asked for a comprehensive report on the work to help him clear the bills, warning that if fake works were included in it, he would take action against the officers concerned.