Probe MNREGA implementation: SC

The Supreme Court today ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into irregularities in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) scheme in six districts of Orissa.

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into irregularities in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) scheme in six districts of Orissa.

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An apex court bench of Chief Justice SH Kapadia, Justice KS Radhakrishnan and Justice Swatanter Kumar directed the CBI to file its first status report in six months.

Speaking for the bench, Justice Swatanter Kumar said the investigative agency will also take into account the March 2009 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report in respect to these six districts.

It was the CAG report which first pointed out irregularities running into crores of rupees in the implementation of the job scheme in the state.

The court also asked the central and all the state governments to file affidavits in six weeks, stating they are implementing the scheme strictly in accordance with MNREGA guidelines.