BNLive: Beed: Friday, March 15, 2013.
As the
drought situation in Maharashtra worsens, allegations of siphoning off of
relief funds have surfaced. The leader of the opposition in the state Assembly
on Wednesday claimed bogus beneficiaries of fodder schemes. This came as the
Centre granted Rs 1,200 crore as a drought relief package.
Suresh Dass,
MLA of Ashti, Beed assured drought affected cattle owners of his help. The
Ashti milk cooperative, controlled by the NCP MLA, holds the contract for at
least a dozen cattle farmer relief camps. The MLA also holds other drought
relief contracts, controlling a 110 water tankers contracted to supply water in
Ashti.
RTI activist
Rambhau Khade alleged that the MLA's tankers and cattle camps flout relief
rules with impunity. For example - replies to RTI queries show that Dass's
tankers routinely inflate figures for distance travelled and the quantity of
water supplied.
"Records
show that 3,50,000 litre of water has been lifted by these tankers per day in
Ashti. Then how is it that entire rows of houses haven't seen water or a single
tankers for 15 days at a stretch," Khade said.
Those
unwilling to be co-opted into the drought relief industry are shunted out. Beed
Collector Sunil Kendrekar, believed to be an upright officer, too was
threatened with transfer.
Dubbed
'Dabbang Officer' by local media for targeting irregularities in drought
relief, the Beed Collector was asked to go on leave. But local protests in his
support forced the government to let Kendrekar continue.
Allotted
hundreds of crores annually, drought relief corruption is now a well-oiled
machine that only a few officials have the courage to question.
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