By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: In an ironical turn of event today, when the Congress-led UPA Government was celebrating five years of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), eminent social activist and one of the champions of the scheme Sandeep Pandey has returned the NREGS achievement award he was presented by Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in 2009.
He has returned the award citing no action from the government in a case where some Dalit NREGS workers were mercilessly beaten in Uttar Pradesh by an office-bearer of the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party when the poor came to enquire about their wages.
Talking to TwoCircles.net from Hardoi in UP, Mr. Pandey attributed his decision to “the government’s failure in taking action in a case where on 14 January 2009, a BSP political activist, Ghanshyam, had mercilessly beaten a few Dalit workers in the presence of police, when they had come to inspect the NREGS documents related to their wages.”
One of the grievances of the Dalit workers was that they had been paid less than what was due to them.
“That kind of merciless beating is very rare, against which I had complained to all right from district authorities to the concerned minister, but sadly there was no action at all,” added Magsaysay award winner Pandey.
Mr Pandey alleged that BSP activist dared to beat those Dalit workers because he had the patronage of Abdul Mannan, the local MLA from Sandila constituency and also the science and technology minister in the Mayawati government.
“So finally I decided to return the award,” informed Mr. Pandey. Along with the award certificate, he has also returned the cash amount of Rs 44,000 presented to him with the award in February 2009, a month after the shameful incident took place.
He also pointed to huge embezzlement of funds of NREGS but no action from the government to check it. For instance in Aira Kake Mau in Hardoi district, the place where Dalit workers were beaten, the same culprit Ghanshyam siphoned off Rs 16.2 lakh from the NREGS fund. According to Mr. Pandey, this is just a tip of the corruption iceberg in NREGS.
Mr Pandey has written a letter today to Union Rural Development Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh informing him about his decision. With the letter are attached the award and the cheque of Rs 44,000.
Text of the Letter:
To: Honourable Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh
Minister for Rural Development
Government of India, New Delhi
Dated: 2nd February, 2011
From: Sandeep Pandey
A-893, Indira Nagar, Lucknow-226016
Telephone: 0522 2347365, Mobile: 9415022772
e-mail: [email protected]
Sub: Returning the NREGS achievement award along with the Rs. 44,000
amount that was presented on 2nd February, 2009.
Respected Deshmukh ji,
As written to your predecessor Sh. C.P. Joshi on 22nd November, 2010, and to you on 25th January, 2011, I am hereby returning the NREGS achievement award along with the Rs. 44,000 amount that was presented to me by Smt. Sonia Gandhi on 2nd February, 2009, as no action has been taken yet in the incident involving beating of workers on 14/1/09 by husband of a (former) Gram Pradhan, Ghanshyam, in the presence of police and irregularities in the Panchayat account of Aira Kake Mau, Block Bharawan, Dist. Hardoi, U.P., including withdrawl of Rs. 6,20,000 by Ghanshyam in his name.
I apologize for any inconvenience caused due to my decision.
Sincerely,
(Sandeep Pandey)
Encl.: Cheque No. 100513, dated 1/2/2011, for Rs. 44,000 in the name
of Ministry of Rural Development (Govt. of India) from Asha Trust.