The onus is on the Congress government in Rajasthan to make NREGA leak-proof, as the Union minister was a major critic of implementation of the scheme under the BJP dispensation--- DR C P JOSHI, now Union minister for rural development and panchayat raj institutions, which is the administrative ministry for the implementation of NREGA as a Congress MLA, missed no opportunity to attack the BJP government in the state for alleged rampant corruption in implementation of this ambitious central scheme, though Rajasthan, for three consecutive years, got the top position among states for efficient implementation of the scheme and received highest quantum of funds. With the change of guard in the state, the onus is now on the Congress government in Rajasthan to keep the state on top in implementation of the scheme. It has already started feeling the heat of growing discontent in the rural areas over alleged corruption and other irregularities. Dharnas and road jams staged by daily wagers have become the order of the day. Underpayment and delays in disbursal are being cited as causes for this resentment. Despite claims by the previous BJP and present Congress government, reports coming from the field suggest that, in the name of the poor and unemployed, a large number of those who are well off by local standards could get 100 days employment with connivance of those middle rank officials who are responsible for issuing job cards. On May 27, Singari, working as a daily wage earner under NREGA, near his village Rohat in Pali district, lodged an FIR with the local police station that thieves stole Rs 18 lakh from his house while he was away at work. This surprised the police and other local officials. For a simple reason: how could such a lakhpati could be enrolled as a daily wager, whereas the scheme is primarily meant to provide 100 days work in a year to unemployed and poor families in the rural areas. There is a provision of social auditing under NREGA precisely to ensure the proper utilization of funds, ensuring that only members of targeted families get the benefits of the scheme. In the past, Mazdoor Kisan Sangharash Samiti (MKSS) led by Magsaysay award winner Aruna Roy carried out this kind of audit in some districts and pointed out to the government how fake muster roles were being prepared to siphon off the funds. Local sarpanches are enrolling their close relatives, who otherwise are not eligible to get job cards, and needy people are being left out. There are also complaints that a good number of labourers provided work under the scheme never got the minimum wages prescribed by the government. Though the purpose of this auditing by MKSS was to nail down the state government as Aruna Roy and her team carried out this exercise on behest of UPA government at the Centre, the BJP government used the audit reports to rectify the lacuna and other complaints. An intelligence report submitted to the government early this month spoke about the growing resentment among the daily wage earners under NREGA for giving less wages, delay in payment and corruption by concerned officials. Panicked by this report, chief minister Ashok Gehlot last week alerted district collectors and police superintendents to keep a close watch on the situation. At the same time, he directed them to take immediate remedial measures to check the growing number of complaints before the situation got out of hand. After receiving the report from the intelligence department of the police, Gehlot convened the meeting of senior officials to reviewed the situation and decided to act immediately. According to highly placed officials sources, the intelligence report said that if steps were not taken immediately, this growing resentment among the daily wage earners may lead to law and order problem at places. Gehlot gave specific instructions to the collectors to ensure the payment of wages for the month of May latest by June 20. There had been delay, at places, in payment of wages for the month of April, which lead to protests by labourers given employment under the scheme. It was also decided to convene a meeting of district collectors at the earliest to discuss the measures for better and smooth implementation of the scheme. The intelligence reports said that most of the complaints are related to payment of less wages than prescribed under the scheme, tampering with muster roles by supervisors by inflating figures to show more labour than the actual number employed, to siphon off wages. Delay in starting the work in parts of some districts and discrimination at lower levels in issuing job cards are the root cause of these resentments, reports said. The new government had promised women daily wagers that if they completed 100 days of work, they would be entitled to sarilghagharas (skirts). But this promise is yet to be fulfilled, giving a tool to labour to protest against the government. Under the scheme, concerned officials have to make arrangements for drinking water, a shed at the site and for labour. But funds allotted for the same are being pocketed by concerned officials, the report pointed out. ?