The Supreme Court today issued a showcause notice to the Orissa government, asking why should a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) not be ordered into the alleged diversion of funds for the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).
A bench, headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia, directed the chief secretary of Orissa and additional secretary of the rural development ministry to file a compliance report on the implementation of guidelines within three weeks.
The apex court asked them to file their response about the CBI probe in the same affidavit.
The bench also asked the Centre and the Orissa government to inform the extent of funds released to Orissa between 2006 and 2010, and whether or not utilisation certificates for the funds were given by the state government to the Centre.
Further, the bench asked them to inform how many people were employed under the scheme in Orissa and whether or not social auditing was done by the Gram Sabha.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Indira Jaising said: “We want a CBI probe. We are facing resistance from state governments. States are supposed to convert guidelines into rules, but they are not doing this,” she said.
She informed, 1.1 million bogus cards under NREGS were cancelled in Orissa.
Meanwhile, the court granted six weeks to the state government to explain why the operational guidelines of NREGS, framed in 2008 by the Centre under Section 27 of the Act, should not be made mandatory.
“It is purely a question of law that the state should be ready on the next occasion to answer,” the bench said.
The apex court had earlier favoured a Central probe into the diversion of funds and non-implementation of the scheme in Orissa.
It had said that the allegations over diversion of funds and non-implementation of NREGS, in which Rs 40,000 crore was being released by the Centre annually to state governments, were of serious nature.
The bench also wanted to know from the Centre the steps it intended to take on the allegations concerning Orissa.
