Anger was mounting in Kohla village of Haryana’s Sonipat. The Gaon Connection team engaged a few people who were employed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) for three months. They told us they have not been paid a single penny for their work.
As the number of complainants around us increased, the Dalit villagers we were speaking to, accused the Sarpanch (Head of the Village) of corruption. And these accusations were not just about the non-payment and misappropriation of MGNREGA money.
“I worked under MGNREGA for three months on Sarpanch’s advice but, didn’t receive a penny in remuneration. Instead, he threatened and abused us,” Anita told Gaon Connection. “He does not even consider labourers as human beings. After taking away government funds given towards our remuneration, he abuses the poor for demanding their wages,” a furious Anita continued.
According to Anita, the Sarpanch employed some 145 labourers under MGNREGA in September 2017 who worked every day for three months cleaning the streets and drains, harvesting paddy crop in Sarpanch’s farmland, and even working in his factory. Anita also alleged the Sarpanch made them clean the local police station to please the police personnel. “He exploited the helpless labourers. When we asked for our wages on completion of the term, he asked for some time. Three years have passed since, and we haven’t gotten a penny,” complained Anita.
Sitting beside Anita was Meena, another MGNREGA worker. She informed Gaon Connection that the aggrieved workers tried reaching out to officials at all levels, only to be ill-treated.
“When Sarpanch told us clearly that we won’t be given any money, we came together and approached the block officer, the deputy commissioner and the tehsildar,” said Anita. “The tehsildar threatened us with police lathi-charge. Where must the poor appeal? From whom do we ask our wages?” asked Anita.
When Gaon Connection contacted the Sarpanch regarding withholding MGNREGA wages, he denied it. “Daily wagers are given as per the work done. They have not done any work. Why should they be paid? All these labourers are liars,” he lashed out.
Casteism at play
These workers are dismayed not only because of the non-payment of their wagers or their complaints falling on deaf ears of the officials. What hit them the most was the lack of support from fellow villagers who didn’t attend a special panchayat (Village meeting) called to address the issue.
“Only a handful of educated youngsters in the village have come forward to support these labourers,” said Jasminder Singh, one of the villagers who supported the aggrieved workers.
Jasminder believes the Sarpanch was being casteist. “When these hapless labourers called a panchayat, the Sarpanch warned the villagers via WhatsApp against attending a panchayat called by ‘Dalit’ labourers. Naturally, besides these labourers, only a few people attended it,” he said.
“Anyone can come to my house and find Dalits sitting there for at least eight out of 24 hours. If I were casteist, would I allow them to enter my house? This is all a conspiracy against me,” the Sarpanch told Gaon Connection.
Relentless discrimination, exploitation
The villagers accused the Sarpanch of discriminating against those who demanded their wages. “The Sarpanch stopped giving us government rations,” alleged MGNREGA worker Sheila Devi. “During the lockdown, some youngsters arranged ration for us. If not for them, we would have perished,“ Devi said.
In a twist to the matter, the payment for the work done under MGNREGA had been made already to a few people’s accounts. These people never did any work. “We toiled but, the money went to the accounts of the Sarpanch’s kin and friends who never worked. It is not just the Sarpanch, top officials are also involved in this scam,” rued Manjit Singh, another MGNREGA worker.
“Why must we be quiet? We had worked hard for our wages. We will stage protests, call panchayats and complain to the officials. We won’t rest till we receive our dues in full even if the Sarpanch has us shot dead,” a woman in the crowd declared.
Tejpal, a young villager, said no political party wants to make the plight of these labourers an agenda while campaigning during elections. “In the villages of this locality, Baroda Lok Sabha constituency, daily wagers make up for 40 per cent population. However, no party wants to make the sufferings of the labourers its electoral agenda,” he said.
The Sarpanch may have dismissed all the allegations made against him as mere fabrications of the labourers but, Jasminder and Tejpal had shown Gaon Connection the ledger where all the workers’ wages had been recorded. A copy of the record is safe with Gaon Connection.
Gaon Connection reached out to the block panchayat officer in this regard but, there was no response to the phone call. The story will be updated as soon as he responds.
The author is a freelance journalist.
