Jean Dreze and Aruna Roy at the hearing on NREGA. Picture by Manik Bose

Ranchi, May 23: During the recent social audit, volunteers of NREGA Watch stumbled upon a bizarre finding — officials of a local post office were involved in corruption while making payments to villagers for the work done under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA).

A group of villagers, said Central Employment Guarantee Council member Annie Raja who led the audit team, claimed that the local postmaster was deducting at least Rs 50 from each villager for making payments.

As the stunned gathering heard Annie during the state-level public hearing on NREGA at Administrative Training Institute today exposed the corrupt postmaster, she revealed that the postmaster had managed to collect Rs 10,000 in one day by this manner.

While Annie demanded that the state government make arrangements for paying the money to villagers in public, noted economist Jean Dreze advised the government to exercise utmost caution so that villagers get their dues for their labour. The principal secretary of the rural development department, Ashok Kumar Singh, described the findings as “shocking” and pulled up senior postal department officials during the hearing.

The postal department, Singh strongly suggested, should take the erring postmaster to task to send a strong message to others. The postal department officials assured of initiating an immediate inquiry into the incident.

During the daylong hearing, social activists from various parts of the state raised concern over the issue.

Apart from Singh, Union rural development joint secretary Anita Sharma and social worker Aruna Roy took part in the deliberations.

Complaints from social activists ranged from discrepancies in master rolls, anomalies in job cards where there is no column for amount received, beneficiaries (read contractors) keeping job cards contrary to rules, not entertaining applications for employment, no proper facilities at work site among others.

Roy said the government should carry out an extensive awareness drive for the scheme, besides taking steps against erring officials.