Haryana villagers grapple with online applications to access flood relief

Lack of power supply and internet service, and unfamiliarity with the online system give a hard time to farmers Kaithal, Haryana: Hoping for a good harvest, Ramesh Kumar (45) of Bhatia village in Haryana sowed wheat and paddy on 10 acres of land by spending close to Rs 1 lakh. However, floods in River Ghaggar ruined the crops two months ago, leaving him in debt and without any alternative source of income"I lost my house and all other possessions to the flood. I am worried about my children's future, their education. I have no other income to take care of my family. Everything is gone,” he bemoans.Kumar is among the hundreds of farmers who have suffered losses in the floods that washed away over four lakh acres of agricultural lands and destroyed close to 500 houses in 12 districts of the state, affecting over 1,500 villages. “Yamunanagar, Karnal, Palwal, Kurukshetra, Panipat, Sonipat and Sirsa are among the affected districts, leaving farmers to grapple with losses exceeding Rs 55 crore,” said Puran Dahiya, a local farmer engaged in relief work with NGO Jansamvedna. Residents in Kaithal district, around 200 km from Delhi, were affected by the flooding of Hansi-Butana canal. “The floods in this particular region were preventable but for the administration’s negligence,” said Vishpal Singh, a farmer from Sherpur village in Purab block. “Initially, the water levels were at 18 ft. It touched an alarming 28 ft on July 18. Had the canal been properly maintained, the villages on this side could have been saved," he said.The farmers have been demanding a compensation of Rs 50,000 per acre for agricultural lands. However, the government has announced only Rs 15,000 per acre for full crop damage. The farmers have been seeking compensation for livestock loss, damaged borewells, Rs 10 lakh per family for the bereaved, one-year waiver of all debts and interests and minimum support price for their produce. However, none of these demands has been accepted so far. Submerged farms on either side of the water-filled main road connecting Kaithal to other districts (Photo - Akansha Deshmukh, 101Reporters)Hiccups all the wayLaunching an extended version of the e-KshatiPurti portal through the Meri Fasal Mera Byora website on August 2, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced compensations of up to Rs 50 lakh for loss of movable property and Rs 25 lakh for immovable property. The money would be received in the bank accounts of farmers. However, the complicated process of applying for compensation and lack of easy access to the internet have been causing problems. The farmers had to register their details on the compensation portal or the Meri Fasal Mera Byora portal and submit proof of crop damage, including photographs, videos or revenue records, which many of the farmers were not adept at providing.They are still awaiting the verification and approval of their applications by the concerned authorities, which may take a long time or be subject to corruption or negligence. They also face the possibility of receiving less than the promised amount or not receiving it at all due to various reasons, including lack of funds, bureaucratic hurdles or political interference.As per the latest data from the government, 47 farmers from across the state have uploaded necessary information and 40 of them have received the compensation. When contacted, neither the bank staff nor the concerned government authorities were ready to speak on the issues related to delays in providing compensation and complications in applying for the same."The portal is very slow and it crashes quite often. I had to upload many documents and proofs related to my land and crop damage. It took me several days to complete the application process. I have not received any confirmation or status update from the authorities yet. I do not know when I will get the money," said Rajesh Kumar (38) from Khambeda, who lost paddy, maize and vegetables cultivated on his six acres to the flooding.  Ramesh also had a similar experience. "I have not heard back from the authorities. I do not even know if I will get the compensation. But I will fight for what is mine, even if it means giving up my life," Ramesh said. A local internet cafe owner at Cheeka in Kaithal district told 101Reporters on condition of anonymity that the farmers from several villages without electricity and internet access had frequented his cafe every day to fill up online forms for compensation. "I know they are in a dire situation and it pains me to charge them Rs 50 per hour, but I too have to earn my living," he said, adding that he helped around 1,000 farmers to apply for compensation in a single month.  "The farmers told me that even in this situation the government officials are seeking bribes from them to expedite their claims," the cafe owner said.Municipality workers fogging Bhatia village, Haryana, to combat fever and dengue spread (Photo - Akansha Deshmukh, 101Reporters)Waterborne diseases pose riskThe floodwater did not recede for several days, with the Ghaggar staying above the danger mark of 24 ft. However, after some time, the situation became better. However, as a 500-km road stretch was washed away, access to markets and basic services have been affected. The process of rebuilding it is going on at present.In July, the district administration established 341 camps and provided water tankers to ensure clean drinking water to the locals. The medical team did health check-ups of over 6,000 individuals and distributed over 1,000 relief packages. However, such measures have been falling short as the number of affected people have increased since then. A woman from Bhatia village told 101Reporters on condition of anonymity that her family have been living in a makeshift tent on a slightly elevated part of their land from the day floods submerged their house. "We have to walk for miles to get drinking water from a nearby village. The water in our taps is dirty and smells bad. We have no electricity, work and food. We have not received relief packages. The authorities have also failed to send water tankers," she said.  Locals have been falling sick as stagnant water breeds mosquitoes and gives rise to water-borne and vector-borne diseases. "For the last two days, my neighbour's son is suffering from high fever and vomiting. He might have cholera. We are scared to even go to the hospital because we do not know if they will treat us properly," said a resident of Khambeda village, on condition of anonymity. Officials at the local health centres said many people were falling sick with diarrhoea, fever, and skin and eye infections, but they could not give exact figures. According to a newsreport, Haryana recorded 772 dengue, 43 chikungunya and 35 malaria cases till August 23, with most of the cases coming from Rohtak, Yamunanagar, Rewari and Gurugram. The health department is coordinating with the local administration to fog the areas to kill mosquitoes, and are organising medical camps and distributing medicines and chlorine tablets to prevent the spread of diseases. Edited by Shuchita JhaCover Photo - Water-filled Kaithal main roads due to blockage and debris (Photo - Akansha Deshmukh, 101Reporters)

Workers on the move as low MGNREGA wages, delayed payments make life miserable in Dhar

The post-pandemic wage reduction in cities made them return to their natives, but the inefficient job guarantee scheme again forced them to go out in search of work   Dhar, Madhya Pradesh: Sarla Kumari and others braved rain as they protested in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for three days straight last August. Among other things, they wanted immediate clearance of backlog in wage payments under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) Scheme. "The MGNREGA rules require a worker to be paid within 15 days, but it has been more than a year since we received any payment. Nothing has happened even after the Delhi stir," says Kumari from Badnawar block, Dhar, who has never been to a city for work.Asked why she worked under the scheme when the payment was not just low but also delayed inordinately, she retorts, "Is there any other option? How can I take my children to a completely new place? At least I know this village. When not employed under MGNREGA, I try to find work elsewhere.”“The store owner will not give us groceries on credit. Why would he care whether we got our wages or not?" she goes on. All she wants from the government is the disbursal of wages within 15 days of work, and it is of utmost importance to people like her who do not own farmland. The MGNREGA workers in all eight tehsils of Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh are vexed by low wages and its non-payment. The scheme’s mandate is to provide at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every rural household, but the official figures say Rs 5295.21 lakh remain unpaid in Dhar for the 2021-22 financial year. The tribal-dominated district has 12 lakh families in its 1,534 villages, with 82.4% of the households falling below the poverty line. Across its 761 gram panchayats, nearly 10 lakh workers are constantly on the lookout for employment.  The cascading effectAccording to a March 2022 notification from the Ministry of Rural Development which revised wages under the scheme, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have the lowest MGNREGA wages of Rs 204 a day for unskilled manual workers.During the COVID-19 lockdown, workers returned to their native villages and started taking up MGNREGA work without job cards. Dhar district currently has 2.36 lakh active job cardholders but has 4.52 lakh active workers, the number of cardholders and active workers doesn't tally, according to the data provided by Madhya Pradesh State Employment Guarantee Council Chief Executive Officer Sufiyah Faruqui Wali. As things limped back to normal, thousands of labourers in the district once again set on their journeys to find employment. However, in the post-pandemic conditions, even work in cities was not rewarding. “Before the pandemic, factory owners in the city used to pay us up to Rs 12,000 per month, but the influx of labourers reduced the pay by half,” cites Radhabai of Bodhwada village in Tirla block.Her husband alone went back to the city after the pandemic, but he too had to return as his wages were too low. As the couple had been out of work because there was no work under the MGNREGA for long, now their only source of hope is their farmland where they grow soybean. “Heavy rains destroyed most of the yield this time… If we get our MGNREGA dues, at least we will tide over this difficult phase,” she sighs. Sakharam Suraj Mujalde of Borghata village in Chikli Balwari says guaranteed workdays per person should be increased to at least 150 to 200 days. “One cannot run the household with just Rs. 20,400 in 100 days of employment a year,” states the village sarpanch’s husband. Many workers have migrated to Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala and Karnataka to earn around two times more wages than what the MGNREGA pays. However, their families in Dhar still rely on the scheme. "Whatever work comes under the scheme, people have to do it. Is there another option," he asks. In fact, 41.03% of labourers under MGNREGA in Dhar district are women.    Man vs machineUnder the MGNREGA Act, 2005, the Centre determines the state-wise wage rates for unskilled manual labourers. On why Madhya Pradesh has the lowest daily wage, Sufiyah Faruqui Wali tells 101Reporters that the wages are fixed according to the changes in the Consumer Price Index-Agriculture Labour (CPI-AL), which reflects the increase in inflation in rural areas. “The Labour Department of each State provides the Centre with the CPI-AL data,” she adds. Asked about delayed payments, the IAS officer claims there has not been any substantial delay in the wage component of the MGNREGA funds. In the year 2021-22, about Rs 8 lakh was pending in wages in Dhar, compared to a Rs 245 lakh unpaid bill for materials. Across the state, Rs 813 lakhs in wages were pending, from a total unpaid bill of 5,295 lakhs. With low wages becoming an issue, the panchayats are flouting the scheme’s operational guidelines to use machinery for work and misrepresenting this on the paperwork. Take the case of Gandhwani block where families in large numbers have migrated to other States. “Only one-third of the job card holders in the district do not want work under the MGNREGA. The rest want to work, but the wages are too low for them. Amid these issues, there is pressure on the district to get the job done under the MGNREGA, which leads to fraudulent ways like use of machinery and workers with no job cards,” a panchayat secretary in Gandhwani block told 101Reporters on condition of anonymity.According to him, complaints of wages under the scheme being released in the names of deceased job card holders, or payments being made to people who have not even worked under the scheme frequently come up before the district administration. Meanwhile, Kisan Mazdoor Union Dhar district president Rajesh Pawar gave a different view of things. “Heavy use of machinery has forced the struggling working class to migrate. Only nistar ponds, Release Monitoring Scheme (RMS) and culverts are made with the help of labourers. Rest of the work is done by pollen harvesting machines, JCB (Joseph Cyril Bamford Excavators Ltd) and Flory (concrete mixer machine). The situation is such that villagers are migrating from Gandhwani by busloads to Gujarat in search of work.”He further alleges that work under the MGNREGA was done only on paper. “The officials just record that the work is over, but in reality, no work would have been done.” Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan activist Madhuri feels MGNREGA funds have become a source of corruption. “In certain cases, workers had to wait for months together to get their wages and still ended up getting only Rs 30 of the promised amount. The introduction of technology has made the system more opaque. E-attendance has not helped much as people who actually work may not have the connectivity or access to a device to register.Sardarpur’s caseWorks under MGNREGA have come to a halt for the last six months in several gram panchayats of Sadarpur gram panchayat mainly due to pending payments. Around seven months ago, the sarpanch union of Sardarpur block presented a memorandum to the officials seeking clearance of dues.Sardarpur gram panchayat has the most number of villages in all the 13 blocks of Dhar. Mindha is one among the 190 villages that are part of the panchayat. Its sarpanch Mayaram Meda, also the sarpanch union president, tells 101Reporters that even two-year-old payments are still due.“On November 13 last, our union submitted a memorandum to Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Mahendra Singh Sisodia through Sub-Divisional Magistrate Shailendra Kumar Sharma. People invariably have to wait over six months without payment. As a result, no one turns up for work.”In addition, not much work is available. Meda says the State government should start roadworks to open up more avenues of employment for villagers. “Otherwise, people will have to resort to protests.” Panchayat Secretary of Minda, Jagdish Parmar says many people were forced to leave behind their elderly relatives at home. “It is very tough for families to sustain with such low labour charges.”Cover Photo courtesy of Flickr/DFIDEdited by Rekha Pulinnoli