Vijaysinh Parmar, TNN | Oct 16, 2013, 07.11 AM IST
It was a case of too little, too late for Madhubhai Koli of Amreli district of Gujarat. Three years after he died in 2006, Koli's bank account received Rs 1,000 for work done under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) programme.
An RTI application filed by a farmer in the district has revealed many such tales of injustice. The farmer, Karansinh Rathod, was shocked to learn that he himself was the victim of a scam — four of his family members were shown as MGNREGA workers in 2009, though none had ever applied for work. The government programme guarantees 100 days of employment in a financial year to adult members of any rural household who are willing to do manual work.
Rathod, 44, filed an RTI application with Khambha village panchayat in November 2011, seeking details of the job cards issued, muster rolls, number of unskilled people who had worked under this scheme, and the amount spent by the government in 2009 for the programme in the area.
According to details given by the panchayat in response to the RTI application , a youth Lakdhirsinh, 25, was a "beneficiary" , though in reality he was unable to do any work. "Due to mental health problems, he keeps roaming around the village doing nothing," says Rathod.
"We have compared the details given under the RTI and the actual reality in our village," says Rathod. The RTI response revealed that 1,427 job cards were issued by the village panchayat and Rs 1.34 crore was spent under the scheme. But many of the people shown as beneficiaries never worked under the programme in 2009.
"Truck drivers, rickshaw pullers, diamond polishers, people with mental health problems and tea-stall owners were shown as workers under MGNREGA programme," says Yusuf Juneja, an RTI activist based in Khambha and coordinator of an RTI counselling centre in the village, Mahiti Adhikar Nagrik Mandal. The mandal was formed by RTI activist Amit Jethwa, who was killed in July 2010.
Isabhai Jokra, 32, a rickshaw puller, his wife Munni and father were also shown as MGNREGA workers, Juneja says. "Actually, Isabhai came to know about his beneficiary status only after the RTI response," Juneja says.
Rathod has lodged a complaint with the state government. "After the RTI revelation, we submitted the documents to the district administration and they verified them," Rathod says. "The Amreli panchayat has launched an inquiry and I am confident that the scam will be exposed."
