In what may be called the tips of an iceberg, 38 job-card holders registered under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in Assam have filed a writ petition in the Guahati high court, revealing how the wages were disbursed discreetly in their bank accounts by government authorities and siphoned off.
Referring the disbursement list of ministry of rural development, 38 job-card holders of Ukhamati Gaon Panchayat and Chauldhuwa Gaon Panchayat of the Baginadi Development Block have pleaded jointly before the court that the authorities in collusion with banks and post offices fraudulently withdrew a huge amount, quantifying around `2,17,999 from their accounts.
Advocate Ashim Chamuah and his associates Kanta Borpujari, Janmoni Gogoi, and Pawan Kumar Bhuyan who pleaded for the petitioners in the court, said, “If the authorities can siphon off `2,17,999 from just 38 persons then the average amount of misappropriation, in two gaon panchayats of one block in North Lakhimpur district alone, would be around `2.78 crore.”
Pointing out that huge amount of NREGA money was siphoned off in neighbouring district of Dhemaji, Mr Chamuah said that ministry’s website helped them in busting the modus operandi as job-card holders were quite oblivious to ongoing scam through their bank accounts. He said that they are going to file another writ petition before the court on behalf of job-card holders of Dhemaji district as well. Pointing out that court has instructed the deputy commissioner of North Lakhimpur to seize entire documents from banks and post offices, he said that court has directed the state authorities to take immediate steps to save the evidences from destruction by seizing the relevant official records from the office of the Block and Gaon Panchayats.
It is significant that NREGA fund was siphoned off even after the wages were disbursed in to the accounts of beneficiaries. He said that hundreds of such job-card holders have approached them with documentary evidence to file the writ petition.