यह है जीवन शाला

 

शिरीष खरे

 

दो दशकों से भी अधिक समय के फ्रेम में अगर नर्मदा को केंद्र में लाएंगे तो आंखों के सामने दो चित्र उभर आएंगे- पहला बिजली, पानी और विकास की गंगा का बहाव लेकर आएगा और दूसरा उसी गंगा में हजारों लोगों के डूब का दर्द लिए तैर जाएगा.

नर्मदा की लड़ाई के ये चित्र जब-तब सुर्खियों के साथ प्रकाशित होकर उत्सुकता पैदा करते रहे हैं. लेकिन क्या आप यह भी जानते हैं कि सरदार सरोवर बांध के खिलाफ लड़ाई के साथ एक धारा और भी चल रही है, और यह है लड़ाई के सामानांतर पढ़ाई की धारा.

बांध से प्रभावित आदिवासियों को लगता था कि लड़ाई के साथ-साथ पढ़ाई होनी चाहिए, यही सोचकर आदिवासियों ने अपने बच्चों के लिए एक पढ़े-लिखे कल की नींव रखनी चाही थी, और इसी नींव का नाम पड़ा ‘जीवन शाला’, आजादी के 41 वर्षों बाद पहली मर्तबा यहां जमीनी स्तर पर शिक्षण के केंद्र चलाए गए, जिन्होनें अंधेरे में डूबे कई गांवों में उजाला बांटने का काम किया, उजाला बांटने का यह सिलसिला आजतक जारी है, जिसका आदर्श वाक्य है- 'लड़ाई-पढ़ाई साथ-साथ', और निशाना सीधा सधा है- 'नर्मदा बचाओ मानव बचाओ'.

जीवन शाला की यह कहानी उन लोगों के लिए प्रेरक है जो मौजूदा व्यवस्‍था में विकल्प का सपना तलाशते हैं. यह उन भद्रजनों को इतना भरोसा दिलाने के लिए काफी है कि गरीबों को भी अपने बच्चों की पढ़ाई की फ्रिक रहती है. कहानी की पृष्ठभूमि में विंध्यांचल और सतपुड़ा पर्वतमालाओं की ओट में बहुत छोटे-छोटे और सुंदर गांव हैं, जो अपने जिला मुख्यालयों से बेहद दूर-दूर, घनघोर जंगलों के बीच और पानी के रास्तों पर पड़ते हैं, जिन पर कदम रखते ही झूम उठते हैं आदिवासी और हिलने लगती हैं पहाड़ियां, जिन पर कोई साधारण शालाएं नहीं बल्‍कि जीवन की शालाएं लगती हैं, जहां टंगे घंटे साधारण लग तो सकते हैं लेकिन हैं नहीं क्योंकि सरकारी तंत्र की मुख्यधारा से अलग-थलग होने के चलते स्कूल भवन बनने और शिक्षक आने की राह तकने का खेल टूट चुका है. देदली वासवे, विजय भाई, विट्ठल तदवी, नूरजी, भीमसिंग, नारायण भाई, गिरधर भाई, मालसिंग, रमेश भाई, पिंजरी पावरा, कालूसिंह, सियाराम भाई और उनके कई साथियों की टूटी-फूटी बातों को एक जगह जमा करने पर जीवन शाला बनने का पता चलता है :

ऐसा नहीं था कि बांध विस्थापितों ने पढ़ाई के लिये कभी सरकार से गुहार न लगाई हो. बाकायदा लगाई, अधिकारियों को आवेदन भी दिए, फाइलें भी बनीं, जो कभी नहीं ही सरकीं. हर बार सरकारी अफसर वादा करते और स्थिति जैसी की तैसी बनी रहती. लेकिन आज बच्चे घंटे पर जब टन-टन-टन की आवाजें करते हैं तो देवदूत, परियां, उनके किस्से, श्लोक, आयतें और आश्वासन सब असरहीन इसलिए भी होने लगते हैं कि ज्ञान के क्षेत्र तक गरीबों की पहुंच को रोकने का एक पुराना इतिहास रहा है और 1991-92 में चिमलखेड़ी के अलावा नीमगांव में दो जीवन शाला शुरु करके इतिहास के एक अध्याय को बदलने की शुरुआत हुई. एक तो काम नया-नया था और दूसरा ज्यादा कुछ मालूम नहीं था इसीलिए चुनौतियां पहा‌ड़ियों के समान तनकर खड़ी थीं. इन सबके बावजूद जीवन शाला का आधार स्वाबलंबी रखा गया और इसी आधार पर चलकर आज बच्चे शाला में झाड़ू लगाने से लेकर पानी लाने, भोजन पकाने और बर्तन धोने तक के बहुत सारे काम खुद करते हैं.

आदिवासी नेता गोरखू और उनके साथियों से पता चला है कि शुरू से ही सीमित साधनों, संसाधनों और समुदायिक क्षमताओं के मुताबिक बेहतर पढ़ाई का माहौल बनाने पर जोर दिया गया था. इसका मकसद सरकारी स्कूलों की शून्यता भरना भर नहीं बल्कि आदिवासी जीवनशैली को कायम रखना भी था. इस लिहाज से जीवन शाला ने आदिवासी शैली को ध्यान में रखते हुए घाटी के बच्चों के लिए जीवन और आजादी के नए मायने भी दिए.

भले ही जीवन शाला का जन्म विस्थापन रोकने की लड़ाई का नतीजा रहा हो लेकिन थोड़े-से ही समय में यह स्थान आंदोलनकारियों के लिये विविध चर्चा, रणनीति और कार्यक्रम आयोजन का मुख्य केंद्र बन गए. इस तरह आंदोलन और जीवनशाला, दोनों एक-दूसरे के लिए मददगार साबित हुए और यह केंद्र आदिवासी एकता और भागीदारिता के प्रतीक बन गए.

आज इस आदिवासी इलाके में भादल, मणिबेली, जलसिंधी और जीवननगर सहित 13 जीवन शाला हैं, जिसमें आसपास के 18,00 से ज्यादा बच्चों, जिनमें तकरीबन 660 लड़कियां भी हैं, 58 गुरुओं और सैकड़ों लोगों की सीधी सहभागिता से भूख, गरीबी, शोषण, रोग जैसे शब्दों के वाक्य बनवने से लेकर उनसे दो-चार होने का दूनिया भी सिखाया जा रहा है.

जीवन शाला में अपने गांव की बोली को शुरु से ही वरीयता दी गई है. जैसे कि कुछ किताबों का प्रकाशन पवरी, भिली और भिलाली बोलियों में किया गया है. बच्चे मानते हैं कि अगर जीवन शाला न होती तो उन्हें उनकी बोली की किताबें कभी नहीं मिल पातीं. गुरुओं ने 'अमर केन्या' (हमारी कथाएं) में कुल बारह आदिवासी कहानियों को समेटा है. इसके अलावा सामाजिक विषयों पर 'अम्रो जंगल' (हमारा जंगल) और 'आदिवासी वियाब' (आदिवासी विवाह) जैसी किताबों को लिखा गया है. केवल सिंह गुरूजी ने 'अम्रो जंगल' किताब में यहां की कई जड़ी-बूटियों का महत्व बताया. खुमान सिंह गुरूजी ने 'रोज्या नाईक, चीमा नाईक' में अंग्रेजी साम्राज्य के समय संवरिया गांव के संग्राम पर रोशनी डाली. ऐसी किताबों में आदिवासी समाज का इतिहास, साहित्य, कला और परंपराओं से लेकर स्थानीय भूगोल, प्रशासन और कानूनी हकों को पाने तक की बहुत-सी बातें होती हैं. ये किताबें जैसे अपनी और बाहरी दुनिया के बीच दोस्ताना रिश्ता बनाए रखने के संदेश देती हैं. पढ़ाई को और भी दिलचस्प बनाने के लिए और भी कई तरीके अजमाए जा रहे हैं, जैसे कि 'अक्षर ओलखान' (अक्षरमाला) में स्‍थानीय बोली के मुताबिक अक्षरों की पहचान कराना और उन्हें जोड़ना सिखाया जा रहा है, जैसे कि 'क' से कुकडी (मुर्गी), 'ग' से गधडो (गधा), 'ट' से टुपली (टोकरी), 'ढ' से ढूल (ढोल) और 'ध' से धंदली (धनुष) वगैरह. इस दौरान कई आवाजों को निकाला और आसपास की चीजों से उनका मेल-जोल कराया जाता है. गानों, चित्रों और खेलों से पढ़ाई-लिखाई की कई विधियों का भी अभ्यास कराया जाता है.

जीवन शाला में पढ़ाई-लिखाई का तौर-तरीका इतना सहज रखा गया है कि नर्मदा के पानी में बच्‍चे अपनी स्लेटें धोते हैं और इधर-उधर पड़े कंकड़ों से गणित सीखते हैं. ये बच्चे किनारे की रेत से कभी गांव का मानचित्र तो कभी मिट्टी से रोजमर्रा के काम में आने वाली जरुरी चीजें बनाते हैं. जहां तक अपने आसपास की दवाओं को पहचानने और उनके उपयोग की बात है तो पूरे जंगल को प्रयोगशाला की तरह इस्तेमाल किए जाने की सहूलियत यहां मौजूद है, तब गांव के बड़े-बूढ़े हर जड़ी-बूटी के नामों को उनके महत्व के साथ बताते हैं, साथ ही रस्सी बनाने से लेकर पानी रोकने, हल चलाने से लेकर मछलियां पकड़ने की ढेर सारी तरकीबों को बड़ी बारिकियों से सीखाते हैं.

गांव के सभी जन मिलकर छात्रों, शिक्षकों और संसाधनों के बीच एक बहुत अच्छा संबंध बनाते हैं. यह समय-समय पर बैठकें करके पाठ्यक्रमों को चुनने से लेकर पढ़ाई-लिखाई के नुस्‍खे, दोपहर का भोजन पकाने, उसे परोसने और लड़ाई के आयोजनों तक की सारी गतिविधियों में सहभागी बनते हैं. यह जन जीवन शाला को अपनी शाला कहते हैं, ये कहते हैं कि गांव से लेकर नदी के किनारे इनके हैं, बच्चों से लेकर गुरूजी और स्कूल से लेकर सारे कायदे इनके हैं, यानी यह पूरी प्रकृति और संस्कृति इनकी है, इनकी प्रकृति और संस्कृति कभी कमजोर नहीं होनी चाहिए.

बीस साल के इस समय अंतराल में जीवन शाला से निकली पहली पीढ़ी अब पक चुकी है, जो गुरुजी बनकर अपने संस्कारों को आगे बढ़ा रही है. हर साल सभी गांव की शालाएं मिलकर जो बालमेला आयोजित करती हैं उसमें भी एक जैसी विपदा से प्रभावित अलग-अलग आदिवासी समुदाय किसी गांव में जमा होते हैं और एक-दूसरे की संस्कृतियों को साझा करते हैं. अलबत्ता विस्थापन की प्रक्रिया ने इन्हें एक ऐसे बाजार में खड़ा कर दिया है, जहां जीवन की पगडंडी निकाल पाना बड़ा टेढ़ा हो रहा है, लेकिन जीवन शाला चलने से कैलाश जैसे कार्यकर्ताओं को एक सहूलियत हो गई है कि अगर उनकी लड़ाई से जुड़ी कोई खबर छपती है तो वे अखबार को खरीदकर अपने गांव ले आते हैं और जीवन शाला के बच्चों से उसे पढ़वा लेते हैं.

जहां देश के 48 प्रतिशत बच्चे प्राथमिक स्कूलों से दूर हैं, 6 से 14 साल की कुल लड़कियों में से 50 प्रतिशत लड़कियां ड्राप-आऊट हो जाती हैं, व्यापक स्कूल प्रणाली की क्षमता 5 प्रतिशत से भी कम हैं और बहुत सारी बोलियां डूब रही हैं वहां सरकार जीवन शाला से निकले बच्चों को सरकारी शिक्षा की धारा से जोड़ने की बात तो दूर उल्टा पूरे प्रयास को डूबाने पर तुली है. दूसरी ओर उजड़ने से जुड़ी आशंकाओं का डर जल, जंगल और जमीन के साथ-साथ अब जीवन के इन केंद्रों पर भी मंडरा रहा है. उजड़ने से जुड़ी आशंकाएं यानी दोबारा या बार-बार बसना, सरकारी योजना का लाभ न उठा पाना, कानूनी हकों से बेदखल हो जाना, अपने समुदाय से बेदखली, मेजबान समुदाय की आनाकानी, नया समायोजन, शोषण, यौन उत्पीड़न, अधिक खर्च, हिंसा, अपराध, अव्यवस्था, सीमित जमीन, निर्णय की गतिविधि से कटाव, अस्थायी मजदूरी, मवेशियों का त्याग, प्रदूषण, स्वास्थ्य-संकट, सुविधा और संसाधनों की कमी आदि-आदि इत्यादि. यानी एक तरफ है- बांध के चलते विस्थापन की विकट आशंकाओं का इतना भारी बोझ और दूसरी तरफ है- जीवन की शाला के मासूम बच्चों के हाथों में खुली किताबों-सा खुला आसमान, अभी यहां से इन्हें बहुत सारी परीक्षाएं पास करनी हैं.

Systemic Starvation In Melghat

By Shirish Khare

Endemic malnutrition of children causes thousands of deaths in
Melghat a remote area in Maharashtra, even though government
authorities prefer to call it as natural deaths. However, deaths
that happen every year, through starvation, and have been
happening since records were maintained starting in 1993.

Vidarbha, the suicide zone of farmers in Maharashtra has been in the
news because of it is also referred by the national and international
media as ‘centre of farmer suicide’ in India. However, what is not
known is that the hills of Melghat in the Satpura ranges have seen
disastrously high numbers of deaths among infants and young children.
Every year thousands of children among the tribal communities of the
Korku tribes are dying.

The first case of death among children owing to malnutrition among
these communities came to light in 1993, when the late President of
India, Mrs Pratibha Patil became the MP from this constituency. Since
then 12,000 children (at least) have died owing to malnutrition. Since
then, despite the government having claimed to have spent crores of
rupees in this area, death by malnutrition among children continues
unabated. In 1996-97, as many as 1050 children died from malnutrition
– according to government data.

Even this year, in a survey conducted before the onset of Monsoons,
the data suggests worrisome and even shameful trends. They suggest an
almost doubling of deaths among chldren.

Government data for the last five years for death by malnutrition
among children between ages 0-6 years old are as follows: 504 deaths
in 2005-06, 490 in 2006-07, 447 in 2007-08, 467 in 2008-09. By
mid-year of 2009-10, the community has already seen 510 deaths among
children by malnutrition. In addition, 39 children are suffering from
grade 4 malnutrition, and 442 from grade 3 – both numbers
significantly higher than past years.

Just like past years, as the deaths soar, the administration will
attempt to react with some programs. However, with no proactive
programs, the close look at the data points to the absence of thought
and ineffectiveness of these programs.

During the monsoons, people cannot leave their homes for work. They
often find it difficult to arrange for food. Most deaths happen during
this period. It is notable that government programs begin right after
this period.

In 1993, right after the rains, then chief minister of Maharasthra,
Sharad Pawar visited this area. There was many promises made and much
planning – but the community largely stayed untouched by the goodness
of intentions.

During such tours by political bigwigs, the focus stays on those
regions that are most accessible by roads. Hospitals and
administrative offices along the main highways get spruced up. Visible
implementation of programs is ensured in these areas. Communities that
are further inland are left un touched and government offices in these
areas continue their complacent way of life. While deaths in these
areas are explained, the limitations of planning or of the programs
are hardly visible.

Melghat is among such extremely remote and poor communities in
Amravati district. 51.28 per cent of families are below the poverty
line. Unemployment is extremely high and healthcare infrastructure is
minimal at best. As a result, children are often born in conditions of
Grade 1 malnutrition which quickly transitions to Grade 2, Grade 3 and
then Grade 4. In fact, despite high number of deaths for over 15
years, there is almost no significant healthcare infrastructure in
this region.

There are 56 primary health clinics that need to meet the health needs
of 30,000 people each. In addition, there are 320 sub clinics
responsible for 6000 people each. In 1981, for a population of 100000
people, a 63 bed hospital was built. 10 years later, in 1991, the
hospital had 62 beds and by 2001, the hospital only had 56 beds. In
addition, the behavior of health staff is pathetic.

The closest emergency health care center lies 15 km away in Khatru.
Usually, such a center should have one child specialist and over 112
different kinds of medicines. There is not such infrastructure here.
Any serious case is further forwarded to Dharani. Patients have to
travel – during emergency situations – 110 km through bad roads to get
here.

Even here, there is little to be offered. While equipment is present,
they often do not work. They are broken. Or, there is often no
electricity. Even when generators exist, there is no diesel. As a
result, people often have to go all the way to the hospital in
Amravati, the district HQ.

Khutida – a small hamlet with 45 families – is an example. The closest
sub-clinic is 8 km away. The clinic should be staffed regularly during
the day and have 27 kinds of medicines for common ailments. However,
local families say that the staff is never around. Even the midwife
does not show up. As a result, those who can afford it, visit private
clinics and those who do not, stay at home hoping for the best.
During the rains, though, when the river Khandu floods to surround the
village on three sides, the only hope is a clinic in Mohra village in
MP, 19 km away.

Another typical example is Karanjkheda Village with 113 homes. The
local pre-school ‘anganwadi’ has 98 children. The government run
‘anganwadi’, per government guidelines, requires Rs 2.40 to spend on
food for every child every day. As it is across the state, this
mid-day meal program is run through contracts. However, in this case,
the staff members of the anganwadi have taken the contract themselves;
thus distribution of mid-day meals is pathetic. The staff members, in
their bid to increase their profits, provide very small quantities of
non-nutritious meals, consisting mostly of dilute rice porridge. Half
the children do not get meals. The state of mid-day meals in 337
preschool anganwadis and 213 primary schools is similar – existing
primarily on paper.

Another example is that of the village of Ektai. Among 175 families,
only 40 have ration cards for public distribution of food. Villages
point out that the ration store keeper gives out only 25 kg of
subsidized grain, as opposed to 35 kg as per government guidelines.
The rest is hoarded and sold illegally. This caused riots in the
village some time ago, leading to investigation. Over 50 people were
found guilty of being part of a scam and the government locked the
store. Thus, there is no public distribution of grain anymore. Thus,
people have to walk 6km to get grain from a public distribution
center. Thus, the government rewarded those villagers who opposed
corruption by making life harder for them.

In the past year, 75,909 job cards were distributed here in Melghat as
per the Employment Guarantee Scheme. However, jobs were provided only
to 14,502 people. Public documents available at the Panchayat or block
office do not provide any details of how money was spent on EGS or on
other schemes such as child welfare programs or adivasi welfare
programs. The absence of details is telling.

Melghat is home to about 3 lakh people, 80 per cent of which belong to
Korku tribe. The community uses 27 per cent of land for agriculture.
Agriculture depends completely on monsoons. The rest of the land – 73
per cent - is forest land. Thus, forests have been a major source of
livelihood. However, since 1974, this was marked as the Melghat Tiger
Reserve Area and the Korku adivasis were pushed out of the forest.
After 1980, they were not allowed to collect firewood and other forest
products such as leaves, and honey from the forest. They were
prohibited from fishing in the forests or collecting roots. This has
been a major cause for shortage in food in this area, for a community
whose lives were tied to the forest. Thus, while Mumbai was
celebrating the 50th anniversary of the statehood of Maharashtra,
Melghat was suffering from hunger and starvation.

Sugarcane Cutters in Marathwada

Shirish Khare

Marathwada, the air resonates with the ever-so-familiar poem from school, ‘Shikari aata hai, jaal failata hai. Daane ka lobh dikhata hai, lekin hamein jaal mein naïf fasna chahiye. The poem takes on a new meaning in Marathwada though: there are tales galore of the predator and prey here.

According to Government statistics, sugarcane production here in Marathwada is very high but the exploitation is even more pervasive which, unfortunately, remains unaccounted for.

In the morning, we are caught by the sight of a tractor carrying about a dozensugarcane cutters and their families. They carry with them their entire world: food, clothes and other bare essentials for survival. Children lie asleep on their mothers’ laps or sisters’ shoulders, huddled together with the cattle. When I asked them where they were going, one of the women said, “Very far….to Karnataka…..Bidar factory”. I asked them when they would return and they replied, “Not until the rains”.

This is Marathwada in Maharashtra. Many such tractors ply on the roads connecting the villages here to the cities. Most villages in Kalamb Tehsil, about 100 kms away from Usmanabad lie dreary and deserted.

Vinayak Taur, an educated dalit youth from the nearby Massa village told us, “Thousands of labourers leave their homes here every year between Diwali and the monsoons to work as sugarcane cutters for the sugar factories. Most of them belong to Dalit, Banjara and Pardi communities. They neither have any land they can call their own nor any other source of livelihood. Living on the outskirts of the villages here, they remain untouched by Gram Panchayat schemes and plans. School-going children here, as children anywhere else always, are the worst hit. The sugarcane farms they work in are replete with tales of exploitation.

This area in Marathwada is known particularly for sugar production. Ternasugar factory, the first ever factory here came into being at Dhonka in Usmanabad in 1982. Government statistics put the number of sugar factories here to 30 out of which 7 are in Usmanabad district alone of which, again, 4 are in Kalamb Tehsil. A member of the Terna Sugar Factory Committee, on condition of anonymity, revealed, “Every factory here needs sugarcane worth 25-50 kms worth of land which is taken care of by supervisors. The supervisor signs a deal with the Committee for Rs. 5-10 lakh in exchange of which he assures work to 12-20 labourer pairs for 6 – 10 months.”

A social worker working in that area, Bajrang Tate informed us, “Supervisors belong to the upper castes here. They persuade labourers and their wives to work for 6 to 10 months for a measly Rs. 25-30,000. They make a legal agreement with the labourers – sometimes for factories in far off areas. Under these agreements, labourers from here go to work in areas as far as Pune, Kolhapur in Maharashtra and Bidar, Alumathi and Bedgaon in Karnataka while labourers from these areas come here to work.” Balaji Mulay of Kalamb told us, “The supervisors do not get much time to gather labourers for work available in these factories. So they make sure they use their labour to the fullest without any compromise. Maya Shinde of neighbouring Dorala village narrates, “Bharat Sontake had no idea he would be inflicted by TB soon after signing a deal for work in Kolhapur for 6 months for Rs. 20,000 with one of the supervisors. The supervisor, after hearing of Bharat’s disease, forced Bharat’s entire family – his wife, ageing parents and young daughters – to work to compensate for his absence.”

We noticed a cluster of huts around the factories there – make shift homes for the labourers for 15-20 days of work in these factories. The labourers will be broken up into smaller groups and sent to their respective factories for work. We visited one such Basti near Dharashiv sugar factory in Khedki village. The Basti is made up all of 12 huts – rickety structures barely standing on sticks and rags. The huts have just one room for the whole family which just about enough space to stretch one’s legs. Children and women have to walk miles to for water and electricity and basic sanitation here, remain a distant dream in these Bastis.

At the break of dawn, labourers leave home with little more than a scythe made specially to cut sugarcane. Labourers work on the sugarcane farms in pairs: one cuts sugarcane and the other gathers it in a bunch. A pair usually cuts about 2 tonne of sugarcane everyday which is then transported to sugarfactories. Trucks carry sugarcane to the factories well into the night. Many a time children along with their parents work as labourers on these farms as well. Many children cook and clean at home while their parents toil on the farms. Ishara Gore, one of many such child labourers here, told us she studied in the third standard and would be going to the fourth when she returned to her village. Little did she know that her school exams would be over by the time she returned. Her family has migrated to Karat village in Sagli district for work. Her father, Yavik Gore told us, “It’s good if she studies, otherwise we will have to get her married in the next 5 years anyway. Then she will work with her husband like us.” Child marriage is a common practice here. Marriage often takes place among labourers’ families so as to increase the number of labourers within the family and hence the family income. Migration in this case, perpetuates a malice like child marriage.

Shobhayani Kasbe, who works at the neighbouring Shambhu Maharaj sugarfactory, voices her concerns about her children, “Our children work when they should be playing and studying. Sometimes, they seem very irritable while sometimes they recoil into a shell and become very quiet.” When we asked them why they didn’t take them back home sometimes, Mudrika Gore replied, “We are not allowed to go back home before the contract ends except during elections. We are taken back only to cast our vote during elections and brought back here soon after that.” They all had stories of gross exploitation to tell: stories of being overworked and underpaid and stories of being battered mercilessly by the supervisors if they even so much as dared to raise their voice. Shivaji Waghmare of Wabhal village narrates one of many such stories, “Last year saw very good production of sugarcane for which the labourers had to pay a price. They were forced to work even after their contract had ended. When some labourers protested, they, along with their wives and children, were beaten up ruthlessly.

The Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme the Maharashtra government runs here is more of a farce than anything else. We visited the Vikaskhand Kalamb office to uncover the truth behind this government scheme and were appalled by what we discovered. Basant Waghmare, the Development Officer of the Panchayat department told us, “It’s been a year since the scheme has been implemented but there are employment opportunities only in 7 out of the 89 villages in this block. With over 50,000 labourers in this block, only 2500 have got jobs under this scheme. And of even those who have managed to get jobs, many are yet to be paid. They will be paid only after we receive a grant of Rs. 5, 00,000 from the district authorities.” He added, “This scheme is mired in red tapism. That’s why it remains defunct at the implementation level.” But social activist Bajrang Tate unravels the other side of the story quite contrary to what meets the eye. He says,” Gram Panchayats here are dominated by the land – owning upper castes. They need labourers to work on their land. Labourers are kept in the dark about the government employment scheme just so they continue to work in farms under oppressive conditions. This way, the status quo remains undisturbed and the power equation unperturbed.”