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Jhalawar social audit plan fails to take off

JAIPUR: The social audit programme on the much talked about National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA) in Jhalawar, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s former Lok Sabha constituency, could not start as scheduled on Friday. Over 400 activists of Rozgar Evum Suchana ka Adhikar Abhiyan, who arrived in Jhalawar a few days ago for the audit, are sitting on a dharna waiting for photocopies of the work carried out under NREGA in Manohar Thana block in Jhalawar to reach them.

Until Friday evening only details pertaining to one of the five panchayats where the audit is scheduled were made available to the group. There are apprehensions that the current audit too would meet the fate of the previous unsuccessful attempt made by the Abhiyan in December in Banswara.

Perhaps the “message” of Banswara, where the sarpanchs and local politicians showed a rare unity in opposing the audit, seems to have travelled to this remote block in Jhalawar. In a gross violation of the law, which explicitly states that no one can be denied information under NREGA on any ground, the Sarpanch Sangh had submitted a memorandum to the Block Programme Officer, NREGA, on January 28 stating that “no information would be provided to Hum Kisan Sangathan”, the local group, supporting the Abhiyan.

Incidentally, the Sarpanch of Jawar panchayat happens to be the president of the Sarpanch Sangh of Manohar Thana block. The campaigners have been on an indefinite dharna in front of the block office since January 29.

“The Abhiyan had applied for information at the village level from the gram panchayats selected for the audit -- Jawar, Manpasar, Banskhedi, Banskheda and Anwalkhera -- in Manohar Thana on January 15. Even after passing the stipulated seven-day time limit under the NREGA guidelines, and despite repeated promises from the Collector and Programme Officer of the block that the information would be provided, we are still waiting,” observed the Abhiyan spokesperson Nikhil Dey.

The representatives from the Abhiyan had also met the Jhalawar Collector.

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