The great rural junket

The Tribune Team

Come to think of it, our land is apolitical: as you sow, so shall you reap. That's why the essence of ideologies, academic studies, seminars and the highfalutin of growth charts converges into one reality: the capacity to feed, and facilitate prosperity. So, it's no rocket science to gauge what's transpiring above and beneath the land; those who till the land and those who help in tilling the land and sell the produce. Any gap between the two will distort the delicate relationship. Remember, what happened when prices of pulses skyrocketed, the onion brought us to tears and prices of foodgrain fluctuated wildly? Or, why we continue to hear about suicides by farmers, the rotting grain in tons, an ever-rising disinterest in agriculture among the youth and attempts to invent, reinvent ways to reassure ourselves that everything is, or will be, hunky-dory.

All this and more is apparent in the approach of successive governments in a country where nearly 50% of the workforce is engaged in agriculture. Also, New Delhi has always been very distant from the hinterland: Politics has had an ideological, or more recently, alliance baggage while bureaucrats carry their own status-quoist agenda. Result: Despite scores of pro-farmer welfare schemes, the recipients have no knowledge of most of them, the rural India remains largely cut off from the drawing boards of policy planners while schemes after schemes keep adding to the weightlessness of administrative grandstanding. 

That was the reason why the orientation programme prior to Prime Minister Modi's Gramoday se Bharat Uday Abhiyan's launch from April 14 to 24 attracted only 170 officers, whereas 300 were supposed to attend. A red-faced personnel ministry “regretted” the thin attendance and almost forced nomination of more officers to fan out in villages for a hands-on rural experience. 

Yet, call it a late wake-up call, a mere attack of political conscience, or both, the officers' brief was pathetically plain: a) find out if PM's schemes exist; and b) just reel out the schemes, leave out the local troubles with block development officers and district authorities. 

The Tribune reporters attended a few such interactions, some only confined to chai pe charcha while others left villagers puzzled about the Central “intervention.” 

Favouritism to the fore

Gurdaspur: For SS Gupta, the Union government's representative to oversee the efficacy of the Gram Uday campaign in the border district, the irony was inescapable: villagers in Babbehali told him that the district administration picks Akali sarpanches to sanction grants to build houses under the Indira Awas Yojna (IAY) while others are left out. 

Gupta and almost senior state government officials found that most villagers were unaware about welfare schemes. The needy, therefore were deprived of benefits. “Officials should undergo a refresher course to understand the intricacies of the schemes. We have written to the state government to start such courses for both the beneficiaries and the officials,” said a state government official. 

Gupta was told that out of the 50-odd schemes, only the rural job scheme MNREGA seems to be holding. The villagers came to know that the Indira Awas Yojna has become Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojna. “The states have also been asked to make sure that benefits of the Unnat Chulha Abhiyan (more efficient cooking fuel) along with the Jan Dhan Yojana (financial inclusion) and the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (electrification) are made available to beneficiaries,” said Gupta. 

Ground reality

'Gadali village (Amritsar): Even before Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) official Subash Chand Sharu could start, farmers let loose a host of problems; marketing of produce and equal distribution of subsidized material being prominent ones.

The villagers in Jandiala block, about 24km from Amritsar, accused traders and politicians of denying them their due profit in the beekeeping business. Many with small landholdings rued that the government failed to distribute subsidized farm equipment. Sharu had no answers. All that he could say was that the farmers should get their soil tested.  

Wrong timing

Faridkot: For villagers, deputy secretary in the Defence Ministry Virendra Kumar came at a wrong time: the harvesting season is at its peak and no one had “extra time” for him. Moreover he had to visit eight villages in one-and-a-half days to generate social harmony, strengthen panchayat raj, promote rural development and foster farmers' welfare and livelihood of the poor. Accompanying him were officials of various government departments with lists of various Central schemes for rural areas. But the visiting guest officer found that even panchayat members were almost ignorant about these schemes.

Kumar focused on improving health care and education system, something that matters little for most of the village panchayats.

Exclusively for SAD

Jalandhar: The half-a-dozen villages that Deputy Secretary in Ministry of Finance Jagjit Kumar visited had the ruling SAD predominance, leaving Congress workers fuming. When Kumar came to Bajra village, sarpnach Dilbag Singh asked him about the delay in implementing the PM Avas Yojna. Kumar told him that a socio-economic survey would be conducted and a list of beneficiaries would be prepared.

Before Kumar and his team were to leave Lalia Khurd, 68-year-old villager Ramji Dass stood up and said he had been without a shelter for many years and no government has helped him. But Kumar was in a hurry.  

Home truth 

Salabatpura(Bathinda): “My village has not had a gram sabha meeting in 60 years.. People here don't even know why they have come,” said Block Samiti member Nachattar Singh when called to address a small gathering inside a room of the gram panchayat. 

Picked from the 200 attendees, half of them women, Nachattar said most villagers knew panchayat members worked behind closed doors only. SN Rao, from the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (NIRD), remained quiet mostly and made some notes inside a room which had over 50 villagers huddled around the door in the veranda. Nachattar continues: “I am an Akali. The Officers who, just read out plans for the next five years in the village overlooked the very basic requirements of the village. We don't have clean drinking water.” 

Rao said: “My observation from the Gram Sabha meeting is that, probably, for the first time, democracy was in action at the grassroots level. I was talking to a villager who spoke like boss of the village. I learnt he was the husband of the woman sarpanch who sat in the far background.”

Two hours too short

Ludhiana: Gujjarwal villagers who had gathered especially for the AK Arora, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said two hours that the Central official spent in the village were not enough. “Having come all the way from Delhi, especially for taking stock of the situation, he should have stayed longer,” said Kamalpreet Kaur. 

His interaction centred on gram sabha, where villagers raised non-payment of MGNREGA funds and the job card problems. In the Gram Sabha proceedings, Arora said: “I appeal to you to keep raising your problems, so that the government could take corrective measures. The response may get delayed, but the problems will be addressed.” 

Basic problems

Sangrur: Kaheru village (near Dhuri), like most others, has never heard of national flagship programmes such as Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojna (PMKSY), Pramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), and Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM). This is what Dr Siddayya, Associate Professor, National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD), Hyderabad, learnt about the village in his about 4-hour interaction. 

Nor were the farmers aware about the mobile phone agriculture application and Kisan Suwidha application facilities. Farmers emphasised assured marketing of all types of crops and vegetables to promote diversification of crops and fixing minimum support price (MSP) for Basmati paddy on the pattern of ordinary paddy.

The residents of the area face erratic power supply though  Kaheru village has a 220 KV grid sub-station. The jvillage panchayat wants funds under MGNREGA scheme to beautify the village pond and lay pipes in the village to put rainwater into the pond. There is no high school in Kaheru village, no rural dispensary and no metalled road.

Modern times

Rohtak: The chaupal of Basantpur village located on Panipat Road in Rohtak had to give way to Bhaisru Kalan village in Sampla block, where Pradeep Kumar, director at the Union Ministry for Culture, said the village panhayat should work in association with gram sabha to expedite progress.

At Basantpur chaupal, the ceiling fan looked like its own obituary. “We get electricity for two hours during daytime,” says an elderly villager. Some village boys serve a soft-drink to the participants not because of the modern lifestyle, but for the acute scarcity of drinking water. “We get water-supply only once in three to four days, and that, too, for a few minutes. We go buy water,” said a woman from behind her veil.

Remember the PM

Karnal: Thari villagers in Assandh block demanded a total ban on liquor shops and timely release of rural job guarantee scheme funds, issues which Central observer, deputy secretary, Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry, Dyanand passed on to the local government officials. What Dyanand was interested in was the gram sabha meeting and awareness about Central welfare plans. 

Villagers also took up pension, BPL cards, cleanliness, drainage and improving the standard of education in the village school. The residents also assured the authorities of their participation in Beti Bacho, Beti Padhao launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Dyanand informed the villagers about the PM's online grievances redress portal and asked them to approach it for their problems.

No question time

Rewari: Observer MS Kalania, Deputy Secretary with Ministry of Labour, did not take any questions, but when he urged the villagers to build toilets in their houses, a woman sitting in the gram sabha meeting said loudly: “bina paani ghar me toilet ka kya faayda (what's the point in having a toilet in the house when there's no water)”. “I have noted down the problems of the village and observed the functioning of the gram panchayat for my report,” said Kalania, adding that local officers should redress the grievances on priority. 

“I have to shell out Rs 300 from my pension of Rs 1,400 for buying potable water every month. Though the pipelines have been laid in the village and the water is also supplied from a water works in adjoining Ladhavaas village but it does not reach our village as the pipelines are leaked,” said Basanti Devi, an elderly woman. “We have to face the problem in getting medical treatment of our cattle,” said another woman Savitri. “I shall not hesitate to launch an agitation if drinking water is not made available on priority,” said Aarushi Yadav, the young sarpanch with an MBA-LLB to flaunt.

Setting the agenda

Ugala (Ambala): The sight of so many officers prompted Kapil Jain and Balkar Singh to complain: “Bank officials in the village don't cooperate. They deny us information even about Mudra Youjna and Jan Dhan Youjna.” Kapil said: “I wanted a loan and had all the documents completed but bank officials kept making excuses.”

Said Central officer, MS Azad, Deputy Secretary, Department of Food and Distribution: “There is a need for liaison between the people and officials for getting the benefits of various schemes. Social harmony is another priority area.”

Inputs from Ravi Dhaliwal, Neeraj Bagga, Balwant Garg, Nikhil Bhardwaj, Sanjeev Singh Bariana, Gurvinder Singh, Sushil Goyal, Sunit Dhawan, Parveen Arora, Ravinder Saini & Nitish Sharma

Dalits not invited in UP village

Lucknow: The village panchayat-level assembly on April 16 at the doorstep of the OBC gram pradhan Rameshwar's house at Arakake Mau village in Hardoi district appeared to be the best kept secret. The Dalit couple, Ram Kishore Balmiki and his wife Gunja, living a stone's throw from the pradhans's pucca house neither came to know about the meeting nor were they asked to participate.

Recalling the meeting held under 'Gram Uday' the two-term pradhan said the meeting was called suddenly but claimed it had good attendance. From his mobile phone, the village pradhan showed photos of him and the block-level officers garlanding the statue of Baba Bhimrao Ambedkar during the meeting. 

At Arakake Mau village officers told the farmers about Fasal Bima Yojna, Social Health Card, subsidies on seed, fertilizers and pesticides reaching the farmers bank accounts etc. Jagdamba (30) said: “Jhoot kyon bole kisani ki koi charcha to yaad nahi. Bees-pachees log rahe, chai paani hua aur babu sahib log chale gaye”. (Why should I lie? I don't recall any discussion about farmers. There were hardly 20 to 25 people, tea and refreshments were served and the officers left). —  Shahira Naim

Clueless in Himachal

Dharamsala: The only message the villagers of Pasu Pateharh, located about 6 km from Dharamsala, got was: listen to PM Modi's 'Mann ki baat'. The villagers didn't know why a Central officer, deputy director in the department of consumer affairs, Archana Verma, had to come all the way from Delhi. Around 10am on April 21 when the officer was scheduled to arrive, the panchayat office was full with Anganwadi workers, who took out a procession, which everyone thought was a campaign for 'Swachh Bharat”. And when Verma arrived around 11am, the state animal husbandry department officials came along with the vehicle carrying sperm straws meant for artificial insemination for the cattle. The students of local government school performed a cultural programme. And Verma told them all about the initiatives being taken by the Centre for their welfare. — Lalit Mohan

Raje all the way

Jaipur: BJP Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje had told her cabinet colleagues on April 12 to reach out to all villages and inform them about the Central and State governments' plans and schemes. She also told officials that April 14-16 would be observed as “samajik samrasta” (social harmony), April 17 to 20 as Gram Kisan Sabha, and from April 21 to 24 as “Gram Sabha”. Officials were told to hold revenue camps/courts on  war footing and resolve all grievances at special camps or courts. Though no Central officer of finance, defence or rural development has come to Rajasthan to take stock of PM's 'Gram Uday' programme, Jaipur-rural MP and Minister of State Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore addressed a 'kisan sammelan' in Holawas village in Alwar on April 17. — Yash Goyal

Only 10% of Budget

Experts are not too enthused with the allocations and focus of government schemes. Sucha Singh Gill, Professor, Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID), Chandigarh said the Budget is not pro-agriculture as out of the total Budget size of Rs 19.80 lakh crore, only Rs 36,000 crore has been allocated for agriculture. Of this, Rs 15,000 crore has been injected through interest subvention which leaves only Rs 21,000 crore. “50 per cent of the workforce is engaged in agriculture and getting only 10 per cent of the budget,” he said.