This came to light when a survey team commissioned by the National Planning Commission (NPC) to conduct an impact assessment of the program found a number of anomalies, including the presence of a large number of ´ghost names´ in the lists of beneficiaries.[break]
“In Talla Devi VDC of Baitadi district alone, we found 40 ghost names receiving the allowance. There were 300 listed beneficiaries in the VDC,” said Prof Devendra Shrestha, who unveiled the findings of the study, Thursday.
Given that ghost beneficiaries in just one VDC comprised well over 13 percent of the total, the study team has assessed that the leakage could be much higher when projected nationwide.
The leakage is occuring not just because of ghost beneficiaries. “In Dhaibung VDC of Rasuwa, the name of one beneficiary was found in three places on the same sheet, and the allowance was distributed under each of the multiple entries,” reads the assessment report.
That is not all. In multiple VDCs, the study team found lists of beneficiaries that included the names of people living across the Indian border.
“To cite an example, we found that in Bahun Dangi VDC of Jhapa the beneficiaries mostly lived on the other side of the border, but came regularly to the VDC to collect their allowance at the time of its distribution,” cites the report.
Worse still, the assessment found the records of beneficiaries not being updated promptly or in an authentic fashion. “The lists continue to include beneficiaries who are already dead, and their allowances are still being paid out,” the report further cites.
Also, people who have migrated to other locations and are now receiving allowances at those places have not been removed from the earlier lists. This has also added to the leakage.
Considering these findings, the study team estimates the leakage under the program to be at least 20 percent.
As the government spent Rs 7.6 billion (2.4 percent of the total budget) for the program in 2010/11, at least Rs 1.52 billion could have been misused during the year.
The assessment report blames failure to promptly update records, lack of transparency and poor monitoring for the leakage. Though the existing manual clearly requires VDCs to make the lists of beneficiaries public, they have largely failed to comply.
The report urges the government to tighten its monitoring, update the beneficiaries lists more often and ensure transparency in the program.
“If the government checks misuse of the fund, it can easily double the allowance to Rs 1,000 a month from the existing Rs 500,” reads the report, adding that during the survey the bona fide beneficiaries had demanded a significant raise in the allowance.
Likewise, a separate assessment report on the Karnali Employment Program, which was launched in remote Karnali Zone promising 100 days of employment to poor people there, and the Public Expenditure Tracking of Primary Education, highlight a number of anomalies in those programs as well. The NPC launched the reports amid a function, Thursday.
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