Dimapur: Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) president on Friday alleged siphoning off the MGNREGA funds in the state.
In a statement, Therie said Rs 483.82 lakh MGNREGA funds were released to the state during 2020-2021 and were drawn. He said he was told by some villagers that they received only seven days’ wages during the period, which accounts for Rs 60 lakh.
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“The remaining is siphoned off,” he alleged.
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Stating that misuse of the MGNREGA funds is not new in Nagaland, Therie said it is not only a material component that is misused but even the wage component is misused.
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He said after induction, the MGNREGA beneficiaries in Nagaland have never received the full 100 days’ wages or the material components.
The NPCC chief also said there is also the wrong interpretation of the convergence fund. He added that the meaning of convergence as understood in the training when the scheme was launched by former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh was that other departments’ development funds can be converted into the MGNREGA fund and the number of days’ wages can be increased to more than 100 days.
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“However, in Nagaland, wages funds are converted into ‘special development activities’ and MLAs are distributing these funds,” he said.
Therie added: “Only those with unknown sources of income are thriving in the state. They are all money laundering cases. Corruption is rampant for the last 20 years.”