Chartered Accountants will begin certification of accounts under MGNREGA scheme at village panchayat level from April 2013.

Addressing presspersons on the sidelines of the 30-year celebrations of the Shri Kshetra Rural Development Project (SKDRDP) at Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada district on Friday, Mr Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister for Rural Development, said that the accounts of the 2012-13 will be audited at village panchayat levels by CAs from the financial year beginning April 2013.

A government order in this regard will be issued by Monday or Tuesday.

With this, it will become compulsory for village panchayats to carry out MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) accounts by chartered accountants (CAs). Every year, 20 per cent of the village panchayats in the country will be randomly selected for CA certification.

The CAs will be selected from a panel suggested by the CAG. The CAs will certify the accounts at village panchayat level. Till now, the audit was being conducted at block-level, where the village panchayat officials used to carry the account books.

The proposed auditing at village panchayat levels by CAs will ensure in financial integrity.

He said that each village panchayat in the country is getting financial assistance of around Rs 18-20 lakh every year for the employment guarantee scheme.

The performance audit of MGNREGA, which is being conducted by CAG, is likely to be completed by November-end. The CAG has begun performance audit of MGNREGA in all States in the country.

The audit is likely to be completed by November-end. It will be placed before Parliament in December. (The Hindu)