Lucknow Four days after Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh wrote to her seeking “concurrence for a CBI probe” into alleged embezzlement of MNREGA funds in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Mayawati today wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh accusing the minister of having “a preconceived agenda”. Describing Ramesh’s letter as an “attempt to score political points” and an “utter disregard of propriety”, Mayawati said he had jumped to conclusions without taking into account the steps taken by the government in cases of irregularities. Ramesh had accused the state government of inaction on reports of national and state-level monitors which alleged misuse of funds and blatant violation of rules. Mayawati said, “He suggests a CBI inquiry, as if the state government does not have its own agencies.” Regarding Ramesh’s reference to the Centre having power to stop MNREGA funds, she wrote: “He seems to think that Central grants for sponsored programmes are discretion he bestows on states, a distinct sign of a colonial hangover.” She advised that Ramesh should be apprised of “Centre-state fiscal arrangements provided in the Constitution”, because funds released to the state for various schemes like MNREGA are not “largesse bestowed by the Centre” and are, actually, part of the revenue-sharing arrangement under the federal system. In her letter to the Prime Minister, Mayawati also objected to Ramesh drawing a parallel with the implementation of the National Rural Health Mission in the state, saying, “The minister has shown a blatant disregard for rules of business, drawing parallel with the National Rural Health Mission investigation, which has no connection with his ministry.” Releasing the Chief Minister’s three-page letter, Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh said, “The Chief Minister feels that the letter of the Union Rural Development Minister is politically motivated; it went to the media before it reached her office. She also feels that it is a generalised letter, because the minister has formed an opinion about all 75 districts after talking to a Chitrakoot-based NGO about seven districts of the state.” He said that the Chief Minister has been strict on corruption and has taken steps against it at administrative and political levels. Mayawati’s letter to the Prime Minister, in fact, apprised him of the steps taken by the state government in the past on reports of misuse of MNREGA funds and also about Uttar Pradesh’s performance in the implementation of the scheme. “Uttar Pradesh has been a top performer in household coverage, employment generation and expenditure incurred and the details are available on the website of the Union Rural Development Ministry. Uttar Pradesh was among the first states to have enhanced the minimum wages in 2008, and all payments to job card holders are made through bank and post-office accounts,” wrote Mayawati. As for the seven districts specifically mentioned by Ramesh, namely Sonbhadra, Mirzapur, Kushinagar, Gonda, Balrampur, Sant Kabir Nagar and Mahoba, Mayawati said that the Economic Offences Wing of the state had been asked to investigate the allegations and departmental proceedings had been initiated against six chief development officers, seven project directors, 28 block development officers and more than 40 field-level officers. The Cabinet Secretary said Economic Offences Wing enquiries had been ordered in Mahoba, Sonbhadra, Gonda and Balrampur, and a separate inquiry in all districts where a private organisation, Pradesh Sahkari Nirman Evam Vikas Sanstha, supplied materials. As for reports of national-level monitors, the PM has been informed about action taken on 49 of the 67 reports sent to the state. “Suspension and disciplinary proceedings have been taken against 27 class I officers, 38 class II officials, 69 class III officials and 236 field-level fuinctionaries. As many as 71 FIRs have been registered and Rs 53.97 lakh recovered, while recovery of Rs 131 lakh is under process.” She also quoted the report of a team headed by Pradeep Bhargava sent by the Union Rural Development Minister, to examine implementation of MNREGA a few months back, appreciating the initiatives and efforts of the state government in implementation of the scheme. The state’s Rural Development Minister, Daddu Prasad, may also write a letter to Jairam Ramesh. The Congress came to Ramesh’s defence, countering Mayawati’s charge that his letter had been released to the media even before it reached Lucknow. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi also cited instances of corruption to buttress his charges against the BSP regime. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Singhvi said that in Balrampur panchayat, 1.5 lakh calenders were bought for Rs 31 each under the MNREGA scheme. Similarly, in Gond in 2007-08, toys worth Rs 37 lakh were bought for a creche. He went on to cite the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau, saying Uttar Pradesh was at the top in crime rate.