MNREGA looted in the name of Sachin, Amitabh

The Indian poor’s last resort, MNREGA, is being looted in the name of the some of the top celebrities including superstar Amitabh Bachchan, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar. Their names have been found in the list of MNREGA beneficiaries. What could be more embarrassing after names of all family members of Sachin and Amitabh, including 

MNREGA, elaborately known as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, is an Indian law that aims to guarantee the ‘right to work’ and ensure livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage to the poor.

But the shocking revelation through Right to Information (RTI) has not only sent ripples across the corridors of power but raised serious questions over the functioning of the union rural development ministry.

Sources said for the last few months social workers working in a NGO known as Goa Parivartan Manch (GPM) were suspicious over the functioning of Goa’s Rural Development Agency (RDA) and sensing some scam they asked for the names of the beneficiaries through RTI.

The RDA, after much hesitation, finally released the names and that was enough to create a political furor. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Prakash Javadekar demanded a high-level probe in to the matter.

Speaking to the Millennium Post, he said, ‘This was happened during the Congress rule in Goa. It a shame for our country that a scheme meant for the poor was violated. If we are voted to power, there will an inquiry and the guilty will be punished.’

GPM convener Yatish Naik said, ‘It is evident that money was being siphoned off in the implementation of UPA’s flagship scheme in the state by making payments to bogus beneficiaries.’

He said, ‘The list is from Chimbel area, a hub of labour market, which has more than a thousand MNREGA beneficiaries. And, surprisingly, the wages of Rs 100 per day for 150 days were made in the name of celebrities and even their spouses and children. This is shocking.’

Meanwhile, NGO workers have petitioned President Pranab Mukherjee and requested him to take firm steps to investigate the scam. Some of the other names that figured in the list of beneficiaries are actor Aamir Khan, Kapil Dev, Rahul Dravid, Yuvaraj Singh, Rahul Dravid with family member Resma and Arjun, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvaraj Singh, former Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting and his family members Rikli, Micky and Rosy.