Hiral Dave: Indian Express; Wed Nov 17 2010,
Rajkot : If efforts of Aslam Khokhar, a paanwala from Kutiyana in Porbandar district, resulted in a police complaint for Rs 95-lakh scam in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Malde Bapodara, a farm labourer from Bapodar village in Ranavav taluka of Porbandar district did not have similar luck. For the past seven months, he has been struggling to expose a similar scam in his village that probably runs into several lakhs of rupees, but in vain because the required information has not been provided to him even after an RTI query.
Local authorities do agree to claims made by Bapodara, but beyond that, nothing has moved.
Since March this year, this 49-year-old class XII dropout has written five times to taluka development office and to the Chief Minister’s Office, pointing out glaring disparities — NREGS job cards exist in his family’s name though they have neither worked nor received payment that has been shown on paper, cards in the names of a person employed at post office and his wife. According to preliminary information gathered by Bapodara, there are some 100 bogus cards in his village.
When Bapodara, through an RTI query, tried to get details about the projects completed, total number of job cards and wages paid in the village in the last one year, the reply was minus the relevant information. “I wanted details so that I could file a complaint in court,” he said.
In January, Lakhi, his wife, was visited reportedly by Sarpanch Mani Bhima, who made her sign a document. For the same, Lakhi was given Rs 100. Later, Bapodara found it to be an NREGS payment receipt for Rs 547. “I admit my wife took Rs 100 as she got scared. Through the complaint, I have been trying to expose the fact that job cards have been created in mass and the so-called beneficiaries have been underpaid while local authorities like sarpanch and talati have been siphoning off funds even if there is no work done on the ground,” he said.
As there was no response to his first complaint, Bapodara filed an RTI application on March 29 with talati mantri seeking details on projects and wages. “Not only RTI reply did not have information on the projects, but job cards and wages list were also missing,” he said.
However, even in the incomplete list, he could find job cards in name of local post office in-charge Baldev Bhagudar and his wife Chandrika. She has been paid Rs 2,098 for work done in 2009-2010.
“I had asked talati mantri to give complete information. But if has not been done, the applicant should approach RTI’s state head office in Gandhinagar,” said RTI officer for Rananva taluka and taluka development officer Vikesh Upadhyay, adding the Bapodaras should have filed a complaint on the very day when Lakhi was made to sign the document.
“The very fact that they took Rs 100 and complained later suggests they have mala fide intentions. It’s a fallout of personal dispute as there has been no other cases reported from the village,” Upadhyay added.
Upadhyay admitted there were job cards in the name of post office in-charge and his wife but said his name was later deleted.
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