ATM’s there, but where has the money gone?

The biometric automated teller machine (ATM) inaugurated by rural development minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh in his constituency Vaishali worked for less than 10 days. The custom-made ATM was installed, especially to help people employed under India's national rural employment guarantee scheme (NREGA) collect their wages.

The biometric ATM was the first of its kind made for people who cannot read or write. It uses sophisticated and features like fingerprint verification and voice-guided animated screens to help daily-wagers withdraw money. In fact, the NREGA workers were reportedly trained to use the machine.

On March 12, when it was inaugurated, 210 workers opened accounts in the Central Bank of India branch in Vaishali. Since then, just about a handful withdrew Rs 1,000 each. The ATM ran out of money soon, a source, said.

The ATM was meant to protect workers from local contractors who routinely take a cut from their wages in return for getting them on the list of government employment schemes.

The NREGA was launched promising some 60 million households in India a certain level of financial protection through guaranteed work or unemployment benefits. In Budget 2007-08, Rs 12,000 crore have been set aside for 330 districts covered under the programme.



When contacted by a reporter from the Financial express,Central bankbranch manager Satish Kumar, in Vaishali, said he was appointed only a few days back. The money to be stocked in the ATM was calculated by the BDO (block development officer), he said. The BDO forwards the estimate to the rural development ministry and other associated government bodies. This is checked once again by a CAPART (Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology — an autonomous society under the rural development ministry) officer. When the BDO receives the funds, he gives them to the bank that then fills the ATM. with cash. “I’ve written to all concerned, including the BDO and the district magistrate,” Kumar said.

But now the ATM has run dry, obviously because the BDO hasn't got the funds.

Or is the BDO another link in the corruption game?