Kohima: A recent performance audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India revealed that 24 Nagaland government employees enrolled as unskilled workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. The state paid Rs 6.04 lakh to 19 of those employees between 2019 and 2024. One Public Health Engineering Department staffer pocketed Rs 58,878, while a Power Department worker took Rs 58,538. Another employee from the Fire and Emergency Services Department received Rs 50,713.
These figures cover only 32 villages, suggesting the true total could be much higher. The state government promised to cancel the job cards but offered no proof of action. The report highlights massive financial mismanagement. Nagaland diverted Rs 29.53 crore from administrative funds to cover staff salaries and vehicle purchases. The audit stated, "The diversion amounted to misutilisation at the point of diversion and weakened planning, monitoring, grievance redressal and technical quality control."
The state also failed to meet employment targets. Officials provided only 46 days of work instead of the guaranteed 100 days. Meanwhile, 280 of 323 surveyed beneficiaries wanted more hours. The audit found 10 phantom projects costing Rs 2.87 crore that exist only on paper. Another 51 projects showed short execution totaling Rs 8.69 crore. Investigators identified Rs 9.56 crore spent on banned activities like building bridges and panchayat offices.
Oversight is non-existent. Independent monitoring cells failed to perform a single inspection in three years. Social audits missed their targets by 59 percent, and ombudsman offices sat empty. The state blamed poor weather and a lack of funds for these failures. Auditors rejected those excuses. The report calls for an immediate halt to fund diversion, new baseline surveys, and strict adherence to procurement rules.
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