Bihar should look into corruption in NREGA: Joshi

Union Rural Development Minister CP Joshi on Saturday accused Bihar's NDA government of 'failing' to utilise the funds allocated by his ministry for various centrally-sponsored schemes, and said the state government should look into charges of corruption in implementing NREGA.

Union Rural Development Minister CP Joshi on Saturday accused Bihar's NDA government of 'failing' to utilise the funds allocated by his ministry for various centrally-sponsored schemes, and said the state government should look into charges of corruption in implementing NREGA.

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"Bihar has failed to utilise the funds allocated under National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA)," Joshi said.

Joshi, on a campaign trail to mobilise votes for the Congress nominees contesting the bypolls in 18 Assembly seats in Bihar, said a whopping Rs 8,000 crore under various schemes under his ministry, besides NREGA, was lying unspent with the state government.

His ministry had released a sum of Rs 1300 crore under NREGA to the state "but unfortunately, the amount is yet to come to use in the drought-hit Bihar," he claimed.

On large-scale irregularities in implementation of NREGA, the union minister said it was within the state's domain.

"Bihar government should look into these complaints and bring the amount to fruitful use."

Joshi said similar complaints of irregularities poured in from states. "It is for the state government to put a curb on misuse and irregularities in execution of the scheme," he said.