Jaipur: Sukharam Meghwal appeared at a press conference in the state capital on Friday with both his arms plastered. On February 1, he was
beaten up and
left to die at Roda village in Nokha, Bikaner, for daring to question the 'sarpanch' (village head) over corruption while implementing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
Narrating the sequence of events, Sukharam said that work on construction of cattle sheds was being undertaken under NREGA in his village. The project was sanctioned in 2016-17. Although he had arranged for labourers and readied the plot, the material was not released despite repeated reminders. When the material was finally supplied, it was of such inferior quality that Sukharam insisted that the 'sarpanch' provide bricks of the quality specified by the government, which cost Rs 4.20 each. "There were other poor people who didn't protest and accepted the inferior material. I tried to ensure that the shed in my fields was made of good quality material," he said.
Sukharam learnt that a team was arriving from Delhi to assess the NREGA work in his village. "I tried to meet this team to apprise them of the corruption I had encountered. But I was prevented from doing so. On February 1, after failing in my attempts, I was returning home when the sons of 'sarpanch' Maniram and some of his men attacked me. They bundled me into their vehicle and then left me at a desolate spot about 7km away, thinking I would die," he said about his ordeal.
A case was registered at the Nokha police station, but no arrests have been made yet. Nine people— Banwari, Ramratan, Ramniwas, Subhash, Ramprasad, Ramdayal Bishnoi and Jagdish Bishnoi— have been named in the FIR. "These people still roam free in the village, wondering how I escaped death," Sukharam said.
"Rajasthan and Haryana are the only two states that have not complied with the rules laid down for social auditing of NREGA works," activist Nikhil Dey said.
In September 2017, secretary Amarjeet Sinha of the Union ministry of rural development wrote to the chief secretary of the state, to set up a social audit unit independent of the implementing agency, with a full-time director. This unit would conduct regular social audits of projects undertaken under NREGA as required by law. But, months later, no action has been taken on this matter, Dey said.
NREGA commissioner Rohit Kumar was not available for comments on this matter. Additional chief secretary Sudarshan Sethi refused to comment.
