CAG finds Assam paid Rs 11.49 crore above MRP for welfare items, flags MGNREGA lapses
The CAG found that an Assam directorate paid Rs 11.49 crore more than the maximum retail price for welfare items, and that Rs 16.51 crore of MGNREGA wages went unpaid.
Key points
- The CAG's Report No. 3 of 2026 on the Government of Assam, tabled on 29 July 2026, audits its social, economic and general sectors up to March 2024.
- According to the CAG, Rs 11.49 crore was spent above MRP on welfare items and Rs 16.51 crore of MGNREGA wages were not paid to workers.
- The CAG recommended that the state clear unpaid wages and pending compensation for delayed payment to MGNREGA workers at the earliest.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) found that Assam's Directorate of Tribal Affairs (Plain) spent Rs 11.49 crore more than it needed to by buying pressure cookers, gas stoves and battery-operated sprayers for welfare beneficiaries at rates above the maximum retail price. The finding is in the CAG's Report No. 3 of 2026 on the Government of Assam's social, economic and general sectors for the period ended March 2024, tabled in the state legislature on 29 July 2026.
What Happened
In a performance audit of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the rural jobs guarantee, the CAG found diversion of funds of Rs 6.19 crore, doubtful expenditure of Rs 7.76 crore and non-payment of wages to workers of Rs 16.51 crore. It said 35 of the 47 sampled village councils prepared no labour budget for 2019-24, and that 236 of 720 complaints were pending as of December 2024.
The CAG also found that the tribal affairs directorate released Rs 9.92 crore without ensuring that beneficiaries actually received the items, an irregular expenditure, and distributed items worth Rs 6.58 crore without any acknowledgement of receipt. Buying rice on the open market for the Scheme for Adolescent Girls, instead of using rice allotted by the Food Corporation of India, led to excess expenditure of Rs 7.24 crore, according to the report.
In public works, the CAG found an avoidable extra expenditure of Rs 2.07 crore from a faulty estimate, and undue financial benefits to contractors of Rs 1.25 crore and Rs 3.06 crore. It said ancillary works costing Rs 1.62 crore at a medical college site were demolished, making the spending unfruitful.
What It Means
The CAG's findings are an auditor's findings, not a court's. The report says the draft findings were sent to the departments and discussed with the Government of Assam, and its response was incorporated.
The CAG recommended that the state release funds on time, resolve wages that failed to reach workers, clear pending compensation for delayed wage payments, issue job cards to eligible households in a time-bound manner and set up a grievance redressal mechanism.
Source: CAG audit report
This report describes enforcement actions and allegations on the public record, attributed to the officials cited. An order, FIR or chargesheet is not a conviction; parties are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Sources & Citations
- CAG audit report — Comptroller and Auditor General of India