JOIN USMGNREGS being sabotaged in Shidlaghatta villages
The MGNREGS was introduced with an aim to provide jobs and financial stability to residents in villages as well as achieve all-round development of villages. Residents of Gunjigunte in Shidlaghatta taluk, however, are yet to receive the benefits of the Scheme.
Machines instead of men
When Deccan Herald spoke with them about the matter, the residents complained that instead of providing at least 100 days of employment to the unemployed rural citizens, the officers use earthmovers while working on projects.
Worse still, the records show that several of the people have been given jobs, although no project mentioned in the records was undertaken.
Fake job-cards were brought out, thereby depriving those who are actually unemployed of any work, they complained.
They blamed the greed of the people’s representatives and negligence of the authorities for such disorder in implementation of the Scheme.
Rural preferance
The people said they were trying their best to remain in their villages doing small jobs instead of migrating to cities. But the officers did not respond to their emotions or understand their problems.
“Whenever we approach them for jobs, the officers just procrastinate, telling us to ‘come tomorrow’, ‘come two days later’. We got our job-cards after much waiting and effort. But we are still unaware about when we will actually get the jobs,” they confessed.
Wrong impression
The residents of the villages commented that the media keeps reporting on the success of the employment guarantee scheme. “But it is sad that it has failed badly in our village,” added Krishnappa, resident of Gunjigunte.
The salary for the jobs is transferred directly to the accounts of the workers so that they are not cheated by the contractors.
“But, the officers have gone one step ahead of the contractors who deprive us of our hard-earned money. They have created fake job-cards and denied us jobs too,” the people said with regret.
Only card, no work
Devaraj of Brahmanarahalli complained that both he and his wife got their job-cards three years ago, but got no work so far. “The Gram Panchayat officers of Brahmanarahalli have brought out records stating that two drains had been constructed at an expenditure of Rs 1.75 lakh. They have also recorded that they used our labour, although we did not work for a single day,” he added, stating that the people were cheated by the officers and representatives.
“The officers have used earthmovers for construction of the main road from Lakkenahalli till Chintamani,” complained Venkatesh of Lakkenahalli.
He added that a written complaint was submitted to the Taluk Panchayat president and executive officer along with a photograph of the earth mover.
