Sajivan Manjhi stands in a field and holds his radio set,a gift from the state government,to his ear to listen to the news. One of 70 Mahadalit beneficiaries given plots to raise houses in a pond in Pachlova village of Nalanda,he is angry with the government for the very scheme he had once praised. Government officials live in bungalows and plan swimming pools and they want us to live in ponds, says Sajivan,a matriculate who reads newspapers besides listening to the news on the government radio, wondering where he will wash with the pond making way for houses. The Mahadalit Vikas Yojana,launched in 2009-10,was an innovation in social engineering that clubbed 21 Scheduled Castes into a single vote-bank for the first time 1.20 crore people representing 11 per cent of the population. They went on to help the Nitish Kumar return with a five-sixths majority,sending the caste calculations of Lalu Prasads RJD haywire and leaving Dalit leader Ram Vilas Paswans LJP almost redundant. The RJD had banked on the 31 per cent Muslim-Yadav vote but Nitish had schemes for minorities,too,besides many for Mahadalits who till then were dismissed as pachpaniyas people who have some houses here and there. Today,the flagship scheme is under the scanner,the houses in the pond being one of a number of reasons. There have been Dalits allotted land only on paper. And,as The Indian Express reported,the larger scam involves officials who have bought land cheap and sold it to the government at many times the price. Scheme and scam Every Mahadalit family was to get three decimals,or 1306.8 sq ft. Following a survey,the land reforms department shortlisted 2,18,180 families,mostly in Nalanda,Araria,Madhepura,Supaul,Khagaria,Gaya and Aurangabad. Land has so far been distributed land to 1,53,866. The allotment is made in any of four possible ways,of which three under the gairmajarua aam and gairmajarua khas schemes and the Privileged Persons Homestead Tenancy Act involves government land. The fourth way involves land bought from farmers and given to beneficiaries. It is here that things have not gone as they should have. The government put a ceiling of Rs 20,000 for every three decimals bought,but it still left plenty of scope for corruption in a state where the government rate for two-crop land,the kind most commonly bought,is only between Rs 1,000 and Rs 3,000 per decimal. The government has given such land to 29,920 families,and targeted another 27,603. Circle officers in charge of purchase have engaged middlemen,often small-time real estate agents,in buying land of any kind low-lying or elevated,near rivers though the instruction was that it should near areas of habitation and with an approach road. In fact,the state has a dedicated follow-up,Mahadalit Basti Sampark Yojana,for Mahadalit Vikas Yojana beneficiaries. The middlemen would look for farmers from whom they could buy at government rates or lower,convincing them that it could not fetch a better price as it was of little use with no source of irrigation to draw from. Cases in point are at Kajra and Bistoria in Araria where,records show,the Raniganj circle officer bought 2.64 acres at Rs 3.63 lakh and 3.56 acres at Rs 4.90 lakh,paying middlemen a total Rs 8.53 lakh,then organised the government purchase days later at Rs 17.60 lakh and Rs 23.60 lakh,a total of Rs 41.20 lakh. The difference of Rs 32.47 lakh works out to 78.81 per cent of the amount the government paid. There have also been allegations of circle officers conniving with farmers to share the benefits. Residents of Malpa,Mahuain and Barma under Guraru block of Gaya have alleged this but admitted there is no way it can be proved. Point,counterpoint Revenue and land reforms secretary Hukum Singh Mina has called all this an eye-opener but JD(U) national spokesperson Shivanand Tiwari has said there isnt any scam. It is not easy to run a government. There can be some slip-ups here and there, Tiwari says. The Opposition,so far starved of issues,has finally found the opportunity it was looking for. I have been critical of this three-decimal scheme from the day it started. Why cant the government give them Rs 20,000 rather than allowing misappropriation? Paswan says. Lalu mentions The Indian Express exposé while attacking the government. How much proof does the government need now? Rather than trying to correct things,they are going for a coverup, he says. There is deep-rooted corruption everywhere. Many more scams will come out in the days to come. The scheme is one of about a dozen the government has taken up for Dalits,with three departments to take care of them revenue and land reforms,SC/ST welfare and health. The SC/ST welfare department is in charge of the Bihar Mahadalit Vikas Mission to ensure all schemes are properly implemented (see box). HOW MUCH INVOLVED 3 decimals Or 1306.8 sq ft. what each family gets under Mahadalit Vikas Yojana 2.18 lakh Families shortlisted 1.54 lakh Lakh families get land 29,920 Of these families get land under the system that involves purchase from farmers,which brings middlemen into the process 27,603 More families to get such land Rs 20,000/3 decimals Ceiling for purchase from farmers Rs 3,000/decimal Maximum Govt rate for two-crop land,range starts at Rs 1,000 More for mahadalits Mahadalit Basti Sampark Yojana. To link villages to a main road. Dasrath Manjhi Kaushal Vikas Yojana. For vocational training. Mukhyamantri Mahadalit Poshak Yojana. Rs 500 a year to each student of classes I -V for uniforms,shoes. Vikas Mitras. 10,000 Mahadalits,appointed at Rs 3,000 a month,to coordinate with government on schemes. Mahadalit Shauchalaya Nirman Yojana. Rs 300 to each family to build a toilet. Funds for 2,33,333 toilets disbursed so far. Mukhyamantri Jivan Drishti Yojana. Rs 400 to each family to buy a transistor set. Mahadalit Heath Card Scheme. Mahadalit families to get such cards for routine checkups.
