34 Bihar officials sacked for graft in job scheme

Thirty-four officials of the rural jobs scheme in Bihar have been dismissed from service for corruption Thursday, a minister said, adding that first information reports have been lodged against 43 others.

Bihar Rural Development Minister Nitish Mishra Thursday said that the government has sacked 34 officials of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), and lodged first information reports against 43 officials for involvement in alleged irregularities in the implementation of the scheme.

The MGNREGS is the central government’s flagship programme to provide 100 days’ guaranteed work in a year to the rural poor.

“Stringent action has been taken against them, following an inquiry conducted in 1,512 panchayats across the state by senior officers in districts,” Mishra said.

Mishra told IANS here that the state government is determined to check corruption in the implementation of the scheme. In a bid to send out a message loud and clear, the government has also issued notices to 879 officials and collected Rs 4.90 lakh from guilty officials, he said.

While opposition leaders have claimed, time and again, that there is widespread corruption in the scheme’s implementation in Bihar, some ruling party leaders also have admitted that corruption has eroded the benefits of the scheme.