Southern States - Andhra Pradesh   

Villagers complain to Collector on FFW

By Our Staff Reporter

ELURU APRIL 13. The backward and drought-prone Chintalapudi, the home constituency of the Minister for Major Industries, K. Vidyadhara Rao, in West Godavari district is a classic example for the fact that the Centrally-sponsored `Food-for-work' programme has been providing `employment' only to the contractors in possession of earth movers and not for the jobless in the drought-hit villages.

The District Collector happened to be a mute witness to the ground reality during a visit to the drought-hit village, Tuvvachakkarayudupalem in Lingapalem mandal. The gram sabha convened by the Collector at the village to exhort people to join hands with the Government in its mission for water conservation turned out to be a forum for the jobless to highlight that they are hardly getting any benefit by the `Food-for-work' programme. They said machines were being used for executing the FFW works intended to provide mandays to the poorer sections who rendered jobless because of drought. Inquiries by Mr. Jaju revealed that there was hardly any instance wherein the gram panchayat had undertaken works under the programme involving villagers.

The response from the officials entrusted with the FFW programme was quite appalling. The Assistant Engineer of Panchayat Raj Department, Ramaraju, and the village Secretary, Rajaratnam, defended that villagers were quite averse to take up the works under FFW thus forcing the deployment of machines. The Collector asked the crowd whether the version given by officials was true. Pat came the reply in the negative and a few dozens raised their hands as a token of the readiness on the part of villagers to take up the FFW works, if sanctioned.

When the Collector sought to know whether people were ready to do desilting work in the `Rajaka Chervu' nearby the village under the FFW programme, they expressed their approval to the offer. Armed with spades and crowbars, about 150 labourers moved on to the `cheruvu.' The Collector, accompanied by officials, reached the tank and broke a coconut as a mark of inaugurating the work. Mr. Jaju directed C. Sridhar, Project Director, the District Water Conservation Society, to camp at the village and ensure completion of the work and timely distribution of rice and payment of cash for the work executed by people.

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