The Hindu : National : Fraud alleged in food-for-work scheme

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Monday, Sep 05, 2005

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National

Fraud alleged in food-for-work scheme

Special Correspondent

"Middlemen, contractors are pocketing project benefit"

NEW DELHI: The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Promoters Association has sought the Centre's intervention to "weed out corruption" in the National Food-for-Work Programme in Wayanad, the only district in Kerala where the scheme is being implemented.

The programme is being implemented by middlemen and contractors who used machines for easy and fast completion of the task and pocketed a large portion of the project benefit, thereby denying employment opportunities to the targeted beneficiaries, representatives of the Association told newspersons here on Sunday. The Association pointed out that the Centre could stop the funds to the programme due to "rampant corruption." It demanded that the programme be implemented through Tribal Community Organisations (Oorukoottams) which should be given decision making powers.

The Association members have met Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Meira Kumar; Union Secretary, Tribal Affairs Ministry; members of the National Human Rights Commission and the Planning Commission; and officers of the Union Culture Ministry in this connection.

"Verification reports by two Members of Parliament and three MLA from Kerala also highlight the rampant corruption and anomalies in the implementation of the project, yet no action has been taken so far," S.R. Raveendran, Association secretary said.

Legislation sought

Demanding the introduction of the proposed Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2005, Mr. Raveendran said the enactment of such a law could address the survival and sustainability issues of indigenous people in the country.

Wayanad is one of the tri-juncture districts of the Nilgiri biosphere area where there is a high concentration of indigenous people belonging to 14 different communities.

However, due to their "alienation and marginalisation" and now monopoly of multinationals over the agriculture sector in the State, these people had lost their traditional livelihood systems and most of them now lived on small patches of land as agricultural labourers, the Association said.

In the wake of a high incidence of sickle cell anaemia, the Association has demanded special care centres with food and medicine supplies for such patients and follow up research to find a lasting social and medical solution to the problem.

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