The Comptroller and Auditor-General, in its first report on implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, reported large-scale irregularities at local levels. Saying it was shoddily implemented, the CAG noted a mere 30 per cent of total planned works worth `1,26,961 crores were completed in the audit period in 14 states and one Union territory.
In another finding that questions the basic objective of NREGA’s efficacy in the fight against poverty, the Comptroller and Auditor-General revealed “Bihar, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh, which together account for 46 per cent of rural poor, utilised only 20 per cent of the Central scheme funds”.
The CAG report was tabled in both Houses on Tuesday.
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50-kg car bomb defused near pervez house
Rezaul H. Laskar
Islamabad, April 23
The police on Tuesday said they defused a car bomb near former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s farmhouse here, prompting authorities to beef up security for the former military ruler.
The car was found about a kilometre from the five-acre farmhouse at Chak Shahzad on the outskirts of the capital.
The car, fitted with about 50 kg of explosives, was intercepted on Tuesday evening, the police said.
The farmhouse was declared a sub-jail after an anti-terrorism court remanded Mr Musharraf to judicial custody for a fortnight. No arrests were made in connection with the incident. Islamabad Police chief said that the car contained between 45 kg and 50 kg of explosives. — PTI