BENGALURU, March 25 -- A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Karnataka has identified procurement violations, payment delays, irregular recruitment and suspected fraud, pointing to systemic weaknesses in implementation between 2019-20 and 2023-24.

The report, tabled in the legislative assembly on Tuesday, was released amid an ongoing dispute between the Union and State governments over the scheme.

Examining its execution across gram panchayats, the audit highlights gaps in compliance, monitoring and delivery under MGNREGA, which guarantees up to 100 days of wage employment to rural households.

Access to the scheme itself remains uneven. Distribution of j...