Ghost Farm Ponds under MGNREGA in Nuapada district.

[Rajkishor Mishra]

To 

Ms. Amita Sharma

Joint Secretary, MORD

Govt. of India

Dear Madam,

Greetings from Orissa!

Please find mail attached below about the details of GHOST WORK under MGNREGA in Nuapada district. This incident was brought to the notice of the Secretary cum Commissioner of Panchayati Raj Department also Director Special Projects PR Department. But unfortunately the erring officials at block level are trying their best to cover up the matter. They went to the extent of taking the help of machine and goons to dig seven farm ponds which never exist, after spending the NREGA money.

Also the whistle blower has been systematically targeted by indulging him in false rape case and other. The volunteers involved in NREGA in Nuapada fear around 20% of the farm ponds dug in the district under MGNREGA is not actually exist in the field. We would be happy if 

1. the whistle blowers are protected

2. erring officials are identified and exemplary action is taken against them

3. detail inquiry is done of all farm ponds said to be dug in the district by independent team sponsored by MORD GoI.

I am also forwarding the earlier mail sent to the state officials looking after MGNREGA in Orissa for your kind information and necessary action.

We sincerely look forward to your kind intervention to save MGNREGA in the state. 

With warm regards,

Rajkishor Mishra

09437047270

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ajit Panda <ajitk...@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Mar 17, 2010 at 10:36 AM
Subject: [OREGS Watch] Corruption in Farm Ponds in Nuapada district.
To: oregs-watch <oregs...@googlegroups.com>

Friends,

You must have come across the news of theft of Farm Ponds under NREGS in Khariar block of Nuapada district. This has been published in various Odiya news papers recently. The fact is that, the block department has spent more than Rs.2.13 lakhs for construction of 7 farm ponds in the private plots of 7 beneficiaries of Kusmal Village during 2007-8 and 09. But, physically it has not been done. This truth has been unearthed by Khirasindhu Sagria of the same village through RTI. The beneficiaries of the farm ponds and the villagers have complained about this matter to the BDO, Khariar and the district Collector, Nuapada. I have also drawn the attention of the BDO and the Collector to take action against the culprits. But no action has yet been taken. Rather, to cover up the truth the concerned J.E. with the help of goons of Khariar town took an attempt on 15^th of March to dig the ponds by using machine. This was stopped by the villagers and the machine was handed over to the police by the villagers.

Sl	Name of the Beneficiaries	Estimated Cost	Expenditure Made
1	Bidyadhar Majhi	35000	33900
2	Nutan Sagria	35000	35000
3	Renudhar Gahir	35000	30310
4	Sahadev Majhi	35000	34084
5	Makarsingh Majhi	35000	35000
6	Parakshita Majhi	35000	35000
7	Kokil Majhi	35000	10577
	Total	245000	213871

It is quite astonishing that the Secretary of the PR Department Mr. Tripathy and the Director Special Projects Mr. Lohani are not concerned at all of all these criminal activities going on in the district. Because this is not an aberration, there are more numbers of cases like this. At least 20 percent of the farm ponds in Nuapada district do not exist physically. Perpetrators of this crime at block and Panchayat levels claim that the farm ponds have been wiped out during the last rain. The government has now planned to dig mini farm ponds of Rs.10 thousand each. (Excluding Rs.2000/- for administrative cost, the net amount available is only Rs.8000/-) It will be easier now for the perpetrators to make the rain God responsible for the washing away of farm ponds.

Those in the government who claim that they are not aware of these facts are fools and if they are silent after knowing all these are the chiefs of the perpetrators.

 You can go through the following description to get a full picture of the incident.

1. The Gram Sabha of Kusmal village in Birighat Panchayat selected 7 beneficiaries for digging Farm Pond under NREGS in the financial year 2007-08. An amount of 2,45,000.00 was sanctioned @Rs.35,000.00 for each farm pond. When the list was finalised, the Gram Sathi of the village – Mrs. Rina Mandal instructed the beneficiaries to begin the work in the first week of May, 2008.
2. The beneficiaries wanted to do the work themselves and thus started digging. But the husband of the Gram Sathi – Mr.Jogeswar Sagria asked the beneficiaries to stop the work and said that the beneficiaries could get the full payment even without digging the farm pond. He asked the beneficiaries to pay Rs.5000/- each. With the fear that Jugeswar may influence the block authority to cut off their names from the list of the beneficiaries, the beneficiaries paid Rs.5000/- each to Jogeswar (35,000/- in total) and stopped the digging. The measurement was done by the concerned J.E. and each beneficiary was paid Rs.10000/- after the first bill was passed by the BDO on 30/8/2008 i.e. after 105 days of the completion of the first phase (9/5/2008 to 15/5/2008). No one knew how much amount was spent for the farm ponds.
3. When the work did not start again, Khirasindhu Sagria a youth of the village applied to the PIO, Khariar block for information on this matter in October 2009. He was provided the information on 7/11/2009. It was found that the more than 2.13 lakhs have already been paid to labourers. Careful study of the muster rolls revealed that, it has been manipulated both in the 1^st and 2^nd phases. Names of dead persons and teachers and students of the local school have been entered in the muster rolls.
4. It is to be noted that, the 1^st phase work was started on 9.5.2008 and the muster roll was issued after the completion of the first phase i.e. on 18.5.2008.
5. The bill of the second phase (12.5.2009 to 19.5.2009) was passed by the BDO on 23/9/2009 which is a delay of more than 120 days. (Pick up any file on NREGA and you will find the payment is delayed like this. But the social audits conducted in the district have no mention about this.)
6. After the matter was reported to the BDO and the Collector, the inquiry has been conducted. The APD, DRDA, BDO, Khariar, Chair Person, Vice Chairman and Assistant Engineer, Khariar Block have visited the village one after another. But nothing has been done. In the mean time the J.E. was trying to construct the farm pond by using machine on 15^th night.
7. The Gram Sathi Rina Mandal has filed a case against Khirasindhu in the local police station (Attempt to Rape and Snatching of Mangal Sutra).

The details of visits and other incidents are as follows;

Date	Visit
11.1.2010	BDO, Khariar was informed by beneficiaries in writing
25.2.2010	BDO along with the Vice Chairman and the concerned JE visited the village.
8/3/2010	Arjun Sing Majhi, APD, DRDA, Nuapada visited the village
19/3/2010	Visit of APD (Technical), DRDA, Nuapada,  BDO, Khariar and Chairperson of Khariar block, Gitanjali Majhi
9/3/2010	Second Visit of APD, DRDA, Mr. Arjun Majhi with another JE of Khariar block Mr. Sing
14/3/2010	Khirasindhu was summoned to the Police Station by the IIC, Khariar on the FIR of Gram Sathi.
3/3/2010	Palli sabha was conducted and the matter was discussed. The resolution of the Palli Sabha was subsequently sent to the authorities concerned.
15/3/2010	Machine (OR26 JCB 9101) was employed by the concerned JE to do the earth work.

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[ashwani kumar]

19 March 2010

 Dear Rajkishore Mishra,

Greetings from Mumbai!

Thanks for your mail regarding “GHOST WORK under MGNREGA in Nuapada district” in Orissa. I will personally look into your complaint and I am sure Ms. Amita Sharma, JS, NREGA (MoRD) will immediately instruct an enquiry into the alleged fraud in the implementation of MGNREGA in Nuapada district.   I am just fresh from my Orissa visit and see merit in your complaint that needs to be properly, thoroughly and urgently  investigated. Kindly send more details of the case as soon as possible.  If need be, I , along with other members of the Central council , won’t hesitate to do a spot verification and assist the process of investigation by MoRD and governement of Orissa.

Thanks for your support to MGNREGA!

Best

Wishes

Ashwani Kumar, Member (Central Employment Gurantee Council)

 

--

 

 

 

[Rajkishor Mishra]

Dear Shri Ashwini Kumar

Greetings from Orissa!

Thank you for your kind mail and solidarity for the cause of MGNREGA.

 

As CEGC member can you ask the central and state govt. to provide the action taken report on the same issue. As per the NREG Act the concerned BDO, Collector and even the Secretary Panchayati Raj were supposed to redress the grievance within seven days of getting the complaint.

 

We really wanted to know what the BDO has done after getting the complaint (of course apart from instigating the female Gram Sathi to lodge false rape case against the person who found the fraud). What the district collector have done so far and we informed the Secretary on 5th March 2010 about the issue, what he has done in this regard (apart from sending machine and goons) to the village.

 

By this we want to gauge the existing redressal mechanism in the state. God knows this action of yours might prompt stremline the grievance redressal system!!!!!

 

Also we are more worried about the targetting the whistle blower. can you do something in this regard??

 

With warm regards,

Rajkishor Mishra

[ashwani kumar]

Dear Rajkishore,

kindly furnish me information supplied by Ajit in a seperate attachment; I am formally writing to seek information wrt to fraud in Naupada.

Thanks

Ashwani Kumar