Palamu in-charge for Yojna Banao Abhiyan KK Soan the secretary revenue and land reforms on Thursday reached Bhalogaree village under Tarhassi police station, 35 kms away from Daltonganj and took stock of what the villagers mean by this Yojna Banao Abhiyan.
A modest gathering about 60 to 70 people including women was there where Soan asked a woman Chintamani Devi to explain what she meant by this Yojna Banao Abhiyan. This village woman spoke with ease how to retain and detain the rain water. Soan looked satisfied that DC Palamu K Srinivasan and his team had spread the message of this Abhiyan even in such a cut off village where there is no electricity at all.
However Soan was a bit disappointed when a panchayat sewak Purshottam failed to give the exact number of houses in the four or five tolas of the panchayat Tarya under which comes Bhalogaree village. At Bhalogaree residents wanted a multi lakh check dam on Khoragarha rivulet saying if it is built it will irrigate 21 villages of three panchayats namely Tarya, Udaipura and Salaney. One resident Parshant Singh there feebly dropped a hint that the forest department might go on toes if the dam was allowed to be built up here.
Soan heard this and then a tone guarded said the district administration would take up this Yojna of the local populace and then turning towards the lady mukhiya asked her to report her if any thing tangible has been done in this connection once he ( Soan) arrives in Palamu again.
Prior to this Bhalogaree visit Soan spent time with Abhiyan cadres in lesliganj block. Here he posed a twin question which outwitted one and all there asking ‘ Tell me how the Yojna is being planned here and what benefit I am going to have from it considering me for some moment as a villager’. Two rose on his feet but the answer was most confusing.
It was Soan who explained it in the man in the street language ‘ This Abhiyan is of Yojnas of the people , by the people and for the people’ and no official or Abhiyan cadre has any freedom to impose or thrust upon any scheme on the villagers. Priorities of tolas in a panchayat are to be decided by the intensity of the demand said Soan.
On being asked why there is silence on liabilities like non functional water bodies Palamu DC K Srinivasan said, “The villagers must see that their once asset but now a liability gets a new lease of life.” A dead well is much easier to revive than to dig a new well at the cost of 2.96 lakhs of Government money, said DDC Palamu Paramod Singh.
d for “better educated persons to exercise discretionary powers in dealing with people and investigating cases”, the Sorabjee committee suggested that the rank of constable be replaced with that of ‘civil police officer’ (CPO).