The wait for work gets longer in Maharashtra

Laxman Mange Pehare and Nanhu Gaekwad are unhappy men. Unaware of each other8217;s presence in the sweltering streets of Nashik...

Laxman Mange Pehare and Nanhu Gaekwad are unhappy men. Unaware of each other8217;s presence in the sweltering streets of Nashik, both are vehemently protesting one of the UPA government8217;s flagship programme8212;the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme8212;in the temple town. The scheme that has promised a minimum 100 days of employment to the poor has 8220;failed to live up to8221; Pehare8217;s expectations.

While Pehare has spent the last month demanding work and hoped that the nationwide implementation of the programme from April 1 will bail him out of the present agrarian crisis in his fields, Gaekwad is stoutly refusing to implement the programme saying that gram sevaks across the state are being overburdened.

President of the Maharashtra Gram Sevak Union, Gaekwad is leading over 14,000 gram sevaks in a statewide protest against the scheme. In Nashik district alone, 800 gram sevaks have hit the streets, demanding that they not be 8220;overburdened8221; with having to implement the scheme.

8220;Suddenly all the load is on us,8221; says Gaekwad. 8220;We have other schemes to implement also. Under the NREGS, we have to maintain so many records and we are not technical people to implement a lot of the works.8221;

So while the gram sevaks do their basic duties, not taking on any NREGS work, in Pehare8217;s Bhilmal village, the fields are scattered with the remains of this pest-ridden nagli crop. Also scattered across the village is the declining hope of farmers getting a job to see them through to the next crop cycle.

8220;First we asked, then we demanded and then we protested,8221; says Pehare. 8220;But it hasn8217;t helped. Our crop was eaten away by pests. We need the work now more than ever.8221;

A firm believer that the scheme will help him and his neighbours, Haribau Tulsiram of Paheni village says: 8220;Under the state-run programme, there were beneficiaries and we were expecting the national scheme to take it one step forward. We were given the promise of a job on April 1 when we demanded under the state programme. Officials said we should wait. Then the job cards took time and even now, the likelihood of work starting is remote.8221;

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NREGS statistics of Nashik district say it all. Since the state employment guarantee scheme was merged with the national programme on April 1, not a single man-day of work has been done under the scheme and no funds spent. In a district that was once called an 8220;EGS district8221; for the 8220;tremendous8221; work done during the initial years of the state programme starting, Nashik is among the worst faring districts in Maharashtra. And the protesting gram sevaks have made implementation of the scheme tougher.

Officials admit that there are problems, adding that the gram sevaks have got it all wrong. 8220;Unlike other schemes, they have a lot of benefits under the NREGS,8221; says a district official. 8220;We are trying to explain that to them and hope to start work soon.8221;

But by then it might be too late, says Ashwini Kulkarni of Pragati Abhiyan, a civil society organisation that works on the issue in the region. 8220;People who need the EGS Works are the most disadvantaged and hence voiceless and if the demand does not get response from the concerned government machinery then the needy feel discouraged and start looking elsewhere. Starting work on time and getting paid on time are necessary for creating confidence amongst people.8221;

Right now, Pehare has lost that confidence.