CAG notices a scam in NRC updation?

As predicted, India’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) unearthed massive financial irregularities worth hundreds of crores of Indian rupees in the process of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The national audit body also recommended action against former state NRC coordinator Prateek Hajeela and a system integrator (MS Wipro Ltd).

A CAG report submitted to the state legislative assembly said that due to lack of proper planning hundreds of software utilities were haphazardly incorporated into the basic one. Stressing that highly secure and reliable software was essential for the exercise, he added that no proper process such as selection of vendors was followed after the national tender.
The desired goal of preparing an accurate and error-free NRC has not been met despite a direct expenditure of Rs 1,579 crore as well as manpower cost of over four years for the appointment of nearly 50,000 government employees.

The NRC project was carried out under the supervision and guidance of the Supreme Court of India, where the Assam government was asked to provide only logistical support.
In the CAG report, punitive action was taken against the then state NRC coordinator and system integrator for violating the country’s wage rules while paying monthly salaries to around 6,000 part-time data entry operators (DEOs). is recommended. The wage gap resulted in an unfair advantage of Rs 155 crore to the system integrator and the labor contractor. Wipro was also supposed to supply the DEOs, but its officials in Assam reportedly engaged subcontractors, with some Guwahati-based television journalists also apparently involved.
Wipro was sanctioned Rs 14,500 (from 17,500) per DEO per month by the NRC authority, but the subcontractors paid only Rs 5,500 (from 9,100) per DEO per month. Shockingly, these DEOs were denied even the minimum amount guaranteed by the Indian Minimum Wages Act. Some DEOs even approached the state labor commissioner, and many took to the streets demanding their dues. But they are still missing their full payments (which should total over Rs 150 crore).
The process of updating the NRC was initiated in December 2014 with an initial project cost of Rs 288 crore and was to be completed within 14 months (by February 2015). But the project’s timeline kept shifting, and the final draft was only published in August 2019.

Due to lapse of time, the cost of the project increased to Rs 1,579 crore. Although Hajila claimed that the draft NRC was final, it is yet to be ratified by the Registrar General of India.

In the final draft of the list of citizens, 1.9 million people were excluded because they could not provide valid documents for their permanent residence in Assam before 25 March 1971. It should be noted that unlike other parts of India, Assam has a different cut off date. Claiming citizenship after the landmark Assam Accord was signed in 1985 after six years of long protests, but has recently been challenged in the Supreme Court.
Notable is former NRC coordinator Hitesh Dev Sarma, before his retirement, who filed a first information report with the vigilance and anti-corruption wing of the state government. He alleged widespread corruption in the exercise (during Hajela’s tenure, which was later transferred to his home state of Madhya Pradesh). Hajela is also facing several FIRs from various organisations, including the Assam Public Works, demanding a thorough investigation against him as the state NRC coordinator.
Dev Sarma also publicly stated that the draft NRC included millions of illegal Bangladeshi citizens (while leaving out thousands of local families). They argued that the process used faulty software to make it possible and should be identified as a serious crime that would affect national security. If the draft NRC is accepted as final, it will create more trouble for the indigenous population of Assam.

Along with Dev Sarma, lakhs of genuine residents of the state will expect a concrete initiative from the governments both in Dispur and New Delhi, to get a proper NRC.