SRINAGAR, October 8, 2026 – A recent performance audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has laid bare massive administrative and financial irregularities in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) across Jammu and Kashmir. The report revealed that a staggering 71 per cent of the scrutinized MGNREGA works suffered from severe delays in wage payments, depriving rural workers of their timely livelihoods.
During the scrutiny of 400 test-checked works, auditors found that wages were paid late in 284 cases. Furthermore, the mandated compensation of ₹2.66 lakh meant for workers suffering from these delayed wage payments remained entirely unpaid. The CAG attributed these failures largely to the rural development department’s inability to ensure the universal adoption of the Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS). This operational lapse led to massive transaction failures; out of 316,178 rejected financial transactions over five years, 90 per cent (283,196 transactions) were directly tied to the wages of unskilled workers, effectively freezing ₹48.91 crore of hard-earned money.
The audit also exposed a monumental failure in creating durable rural assets. According to the report, 74 per cent of all MGNREGA works taken up in the Union Territory remain unfinished. Between 2019-20 and 2023-24, the administration initiated 20.16 lakh works, but managed to complete a mere 5.34 lakh. A shocking ₹1,897.10 crore has already been spent on these incomplete and unfruitful projects. Compounding the issue of accountability, auditors found that crucial ‘Measurement Books’—which formally record the actual quantity of work executed on the ground—were missing from the files of 67 per cent of the sampled projects.
The financial mismanagement extends beyond wage laborers to material suppliers and contractors, with J&K accumulating massive outstanding MGNREGA liabilities amounting to ₹704.39 crore by the end of March 2024. Most distressingly, despite the scheme’s core mandate of providing guaranteed livelihood security, the audit highlighted that a dismal 2 per cent of registered rural households actually received the promised 100 days of employment over the five-year period.
Published by True Roots Media Network