Plea challenges TN official's appointment over MNREGA

The Madras High Court has issued notice to the Tamil Nadu government authorities on a petition questioning the appointment of an official whose job function also covered overseeing social audit under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

Justice R Mahadevan before whom a plea seeking a writ of quo warranto against S Annamalai Premkumar came up recently, issued notices to the Secretary of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, the Commissioner of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj among other authorities.

He then posted the matter for further hearing to November 27.

The petition challenged the official's appointment as Additional Director in the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj.

According to the petitioners, as per the MNREGA Act 2005, an independent body should be appointed to insulate the process of social audit under the national job scheme.

The state government, however, appointed Annamalai Premkumar as Additional Director in the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj.

The additional director's job function covered aspects like social audit since his department is the implementing agency of the MNREGA scheme.

The appointment is "clearly illegal and violative of the scheme of the Act and Rules framed therein," alleged the petitioner, Praxis Institute for Participatory Practices.

All the projects under the MGNREGA are required to be under regular social audits as per the notification issued by the Central government and only an independent social audit unit should be appointed, the petitioners claimed.

It may be recalled that the State had years ago formed a society "Social Audit Society of Tamil Nadu," for social audit purposes under the MGNREGA.