*Money Was Embezzled Away Showing Fictitious Work-Days*
Translation of "*Farji karyadivas chadha kar paisa hadap liya **gaya**"*
*By Dayamani Barla*
Published in Prabhat City- Aaspaas
Ranchi, Wednesday, 25 April 2007
(Translation by Vidya Jonnalagadda)
Money was embezzled from accounts related to the work done under NREGA
2006-07 in Lungatu Panchayat in Basiya Block of Gumla District (of
Jharkhand). This was done by entering extra work-days on the Job Cards of
workers (more than the number of days that they actually worked) and then
preparing a bogus Master Roll to capture the funds. In the matter of
entering phony (extra) work-days on the Job Cards, a Case (No. 25/07) of
non-cooperation was registered by Panchyat *Sevak *(Worker) Devmani Sahoo
against the Project President Sachhindra Saay and Secretary Baali Gandhi
Minj in the Basiya Police Station.
The Station Superintendent, Haridev Prasad came to Lungatu Pandara Toli on
16 April to investigate this case. During the course of this probe, Mr.
Prasad examined the Job Cards of the laborers and the Master Roll for the
project related to this case. For this, he questioned the Card-holders,
scrutinized their cards, and compared them with the amounts recorded as
their 'wages paid' in the Master Roll. After his inspection, Mr. Prasad told
that the number of days recorded on the Job Cards was more than the number
of days the people said that they had worked, and the (extra) wages have
been embezzled.
He presented the Cards of six people. He informed us that Daniel Kandulana's
family had put in combined work of 19 days, but the Card shows a total of 48
work-days. Dahlia Uraanv had worked for three days, though the Card records
work for 12 days against her name, and 48 days for her family. Similarly,
Chamru Cheek Badaik worked for two and a half days, but a total of 24
work-days is shown on his Card, and he received merely 86 rupees as wages.
The Card of Yugeshwar Khadiya shows 114 days: noting this Mr. Prasad
remarked "Well, it looks like you have been favored, that is why you were
given work for more than hundred days!" A member of this family, Sugandh
Khadiya retorted that he had not worked for even a single day yet 14
work-days are recorded against his name. Maangu Khadiya worked for thirteen
and a half days which was recorded as 34 days. Budhu Toppo worked for two
days, which got recorded as 24 days.
After his investigation, the Station Superintendent disclosed that the
Card-holders had not put any signatures or thumbprints on any Master Roll,
but the Master Roll carrying their names had forged signatures and
thumbprints. He added that during his investigation he had uncovered
irregularities in many other projects as well.
Several amusing facts came to light during this query. In the Master Roll, a
thumbprint was found acknowledging receipt of wages against the name of
Daniel Kandulana, whereas a signature was found acknowledging the receipt of
a Job Card by Daniel Kandulana, who said that he (always) signs his name. A
signature marks the receipt of wages in the Master Roll against the name of
Noel Kandulana. When scrutinized, it was found that signature in the Master
Roll read Manuel Kandulana. The Card-holders declared in their statements
that they had neither signed nor put their thumb prints on any Master Roll.
After seeing and hearing these matters, Haridev concluded that all Master
Rolls were fakes.
The public is generally apprehensive of the Police and typically tries to
avoid interacting with them, but when the Police arrived on 16 April for
their inquiry, the entire population of Lungatu Panchayat was present at
Pandara Toli with their Job Cards. For our readers' information, the Police
had come to record statements of the Card-holders in connection with the
recent reports published in the newspaper *Prabhat Khabar* of the case of
swindling of NREGA project funds*. *23 projects were undertaken under the
aegis of NREGA in Lungatu Panchayat. Funds have been stolen from each of
them. *Prabhat Khabar *highlighted the irregularities in several of these
projects, but in order to conceal the enormous extent of the loot of funds,
only one case has been registered regarding irregularities in just one
project, that too by a person himself suspected of being involved in this
scam. On the basis of this case, the investigating officer wanted to record
statements of the Card-holders in connection with just that project, but
workers defrauded in other projects also wanted to show their Cards (and
give their statements). As the word about this investigation spread, more
people arrived with their Cards.
The Card-holders who had worked on other projects compelled the officer to
listen to their experiences as well. Mahaveer Badaik came with his Card in
his hand and said to Mr. Prasad, "Take this and look, you also observe this.
Why have wages been reduced or erased on this Card? Why has this Card been
stained? We toil in the sun, why don't we get our rightful share?"
While comparing the Cards and Master Roll, and recording the statements of
the Card-holders, the Police personnel were making remarks like "Oh! They
have really eaten a lot of money on your name!" Every Card-holder in that
crowd wanted to show their Card but the Police had to record the statements
related only to the project named in the case. Hundreds of Card-holders from
Jolo, Pantariya and Lungatu were present at the venue.
**
*About Author:*
**
*Dayamani, educated at the Ranchi University, has been writing articles in
Hindi in regular newspapers and magazines like Prabhat Khabhar for the last
ten years. Her writings powerfully articulate the exploitation faced by
tribal communities, especially women. She strongly believes that by taking
the voices of the tribal communities to the common public on issues of
tribal women's empowerment, health, local self-governance and on
Government's Tribal policies, common people can be made aware of the real
situations on the ground and thus participate and influence development
policies in the right direction. *
*She has been a powerful campaigner working shoulder-to-shoulder with the
community on different issues ranging from eviction of tribals due to the
Koel Karo Project, hazards of Uranium mining to forced prostitution of
tribal women. *
*A recipient of the Counter Media Award for better rural journalism(2000)
and the National Foundation for India Fellowship (2004), Dayamani runs a
local tea-shop for a regular living which she claims is also one of the best
places to listen to the 'voices of the people'! *
--
Jharkhand Forum
A Global Network of Jharkhand
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