In CM backyard, one-man muster roll for a pond

The irony is that the whole exercise was meant to “generate employment in the backward area” as part of the Yojna. Instead, as per the muster rolls for April-May 2005, all the funds went into the pocket of one man, who proudly boasts of his connections with leaders from both the ruling party and the Opposition.

The pond was dug up in tribal-dominated Chaura village, about 170 km from Raipur. The work order, issued by the Rural Engineering Services, for the project states the aim was to “promote water harvesting and generate employment in the backward area”.

With Congress MLA from Virendra Nagar Mohd Akbar demanding that “such funds be utilised for generating employment in the backward district instead of promoting political stooges”, Chhattisgarh Panchayat Minister Ajay Chandrakar has said the Government was ready to look into the matter.

“I have ordered officials to submit a detailed report about the project and funds released for the same,” said Chandrakar.

The Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana aims to fight poverty through employment in about 100 districts of the country. Each district is awarded a fund of Rs 15 crore per year for employment-generation activities in order to bring them at par with other areas. The minimum daily wage is pegged at Rs 55.43.

But the muster rolls for the Chaura pond have entries for daily payments amounting to Rs 1,700 to Chawla, working in two shifts — 6 am to 2 pm and then 3 pm to 11 pm.

Chawla himself is unfazed. “The payment I received was for the digging of a pond with the help of a tractor. The officials who released the funds can’t enter a tractor’s name in the muster rolls,” he reasons.

He also claims that a tractor was used for the project, instead of employing more labourers, as the district administration wanted the work to be completed fast. “Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was supposed to visit the area and see the developmental projects. So I was forced to use tractors instead of labourers, which could have taken a lot of time,” Chawla added.

Apparently the contractor was given the job despite the local panchayat demanding that the district administration hire labourers from nearby villages. “We had told officials that instead of working at the site with machines they should try and employ local labourers. This would have helped us secure employment for at least a few months,” stated Ramji Marawi, deputy sarpanch of the village.

District Magistrate (Kabirdham) Sonmani Borah claims to have not heard of the “scam”, saying the funds were released before his tenure. “It is an old case and we will look into it,” he added.

Worse, Chaura villagers claim that the pond is of little use. Panchayat member Siya Ram Lanjhe says a shallow pond already existed at the site, and all that Chawla had done for Rs 13.15 lakh was “remove some silt”. “Work on the project was a waste of money,” adds Gali Ram Marawi, another villager. “Even during peak monsoon, the pond is lying empty, showing that the de-silting wasn’t done properly. The murky water is of no use to us.”