Manav Seva Sansthan

Jagran Representative, Fatehpur

The claims of administration was thrown to winds during the public hearing of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. While 10 gram panchayats of Teliyali block might have achieved by way of registration and job cards, but they have failed to provide work to even a single hand. The officials were taken aback as they listened to the villagers of Dharpur. Out of 281 eligible families not even single family was registered and provided job card.

The public hearing programme started in the chairmanship of the Zilla Panchayat Chairperson Rekha Singh Chauhan in the auditorium of Vikas Bhawan. Residents of 10 villages gathered in the public hearing organised at the conclusion of Rozgar Haq Yatra started on June 16 under the auspices of Manav Sewa Sansthan.

Dharupur, Bhagwantpur, Baijani, Dhamina, Muchwapur, Sarj Khargoo, Jagannathpur, Manjhupur, Chitaura and Korai villages of Teliyani block have 6000 families and 20,000 population seeking employment. But so far only 400 people have been selected from these villages for employment. Job cards have been provided to half of these people. On top of it not even a single person from these 10 villages has been provided employment.

Ram Gopal Loghi, Ram Sakhi, Shiv Kali, etc., of the village said that their family members were moving to cities and towns to work as labour. The pradhan says he does not have work. The claim of providing 100 days work in employment guarantee and full wages of work is confined to papers only. Women attending the public hearing pleaded with the officials for work.

The Chief Development Officer NL Gangwar accepted that the project was not gathering momentum because of shortage of panchayat level employees and technical staff.

Zilla Panchayat Chairperson Rekha Singh Chauhan said that efforts would be made to provide work to each hand as far as possible.

The Chief Development Officer NL Gangwar, senior lawyer Premdatt Tiwari, litterateur OP Awasthi, Santosh Tiwari, SP Shukla and Loknath Pandey were present as jury member at the public hearing. The programme was conducted by the convenor Jai Prakash Trivedi.

Hemraj Singh, representative of UP Rural Unemployed Forum gave a five point charter of demands in which it was demanded that the employment cards be distributed at registration camps and vigilance committee be constituted in each village.

(Translated from report published in Hindi daily Dainik Jagran, June 23, 2006)