In this village, babus pay farmers a working visit ……….Kartikeya I TNN
Nashik: Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had gone on record saying that the intended beneficiaries of most government schemes in India received only a minuscule part of the funds disbursed for them. The rest being lost on the way, to corruption and red tape. It is ironical that many of the poorest villages in Maharashtra that need welfare schemes have rarely been visited by an official of the state.
However, in a unique administrative initiative currently running in Nashik, over 4,000 villagers are not only visited by the local village-level officers every two months, a complete record of the work they have done since the last meeting is also given to the Grama Sabha (village assembly). The day, which always falls on a Wednesday, is called Gramastha Din. The sarpanch calls for the Gram Sabha. Present at the meeting are the 13 village-level officials drawn from various government departments such as health, agriculture and police who form the first rung of the administrative system.
The talathi comes with the land records of the village, the agricultural assistant gives a detailed account of agricultural schemes being implemented. The health worker explains how many infants in the village were inoculated in the past two months. The anganwadi worker pulls out papers to show whether any children are malnourished. The MSEB representative explains the power situation. Similarly, the police patil addresses common concerns like illicit liquor being brewed around the village while the owner of the ration shop lists the prices at which food and kerosene are made available.
The idea came about after we started receiving several complaints about basic facilities such as mid-day meals or ration distribution not functioning in the villages, said Nashik divisional commissioner Sanjay Chahande. It was a paradoxical situation as his office was flush with developmental funds but hardly any were being utilised at the grassroots level. The problem was that village-level officials were not approachable by the people, Chahande said.
Through the Gramastha Din, the villagers can interact with the same officers. Jingles on local radio and notices pasted on walls inform the residents of the coming Gramastha Din. Chahande used provisions of the RTI Act to tell government departments that their officials were duty bound to disseminate information about government schemes they were implementing. Thus, they could not remain absent on Gramastha Din.
TOI visited one such day of the village assembly at a hamlet called Khambale. With a population of 1,500, mostly agricultural workers, the village wore a bright look for the Gramastha Din meeting held in the courtyard of a Hanuman temple. One after another, the village officers gave an account of work they had done. The villagers come prepared with queries and we face a lot of tough questions, said the talathi, P Barase. Complaints are registered on the spot and a neutral official from another village chairs the meeting. He also ensures that all 13 officers are present and no complaints are suppressed. A local farmer stood up and screamed at the MSEB representative, Our electricity feeder supplies power to the ministers school while we stay in the dark. Shut the illicit liquor business. My husband stays drunk all day, a woman told the police patil. Others demanded a cover for the water tank while one man said that Rs 1,500 had been taken from him to register his land but nothing had been done about it.
All grievances were noted down and marked for action. Their status would have to be explained at the next Gramastha Din. The officials also took the opportunity to tell the villagers that Rs 32 lakh had been sanctioned to build a new water tank and if the villagers maintained cleanliness they stood to win the Nirmal Gaon award from the President.
I believe that even the administrative service that we provide is a product and people are its consumers, said Chahande while explaining the rationale behind the Gramastha Din scheme. He admitted that while there were thousands of social welfare schemes, very few benefited from them, as most people were unaware of them. Thus the divisional commissioners office, which also boasts of an ISO 9000 certificate, has put together a book called Vikas Gatha that gives details of all the schemes in force. I have made all villages buy one and the literate persons can read it and raise questions on Gramastha Din, Chahande said.
The benefits of this initiative, which started in 2007, are apparent; The sale of ration at a fair price in villages, enforcing the attendance of teachers in schools, road repairs and minor developmental works, to name a few. It may become especially useful in ensuring a proper supply of foodgrain by the Public Distribution System if Nashik faces a spell of drought. In Khambale, soon after Gramastha Din meeting, the villagers mingled freely with the once unapproachable officers. They dragged them to the anganwadi and said it was too small to accommodate all the village toddlers. Plans were immediately drawn up to build a better one and everyone had a reason to smile. It is no wonder that a team from Mantralaya visited Nashik this month to see if a Gramastha Din should be celebrated all over Maharashtra.
TAKING STOCK: The meeting in the village always falls on a Wednesday and is called Gramastha Din