Banka village of Hazaribagh has all the potential to don Peepli on silver screen provided such dark corners of Jharkhand have similar media attention the fictitious place had! Though, the 'wish' of Nattha of Banka-Bigan Prajapati-somehow fetched him his wages earned under the squalid-what it has virtually tuned up on grounds- rural job scheme MGNREGA.
The story begins with Bigan's application for digging up a well on his own land under the scheme. After his plan got the requisite approvals starting form Gram Sabha, Mukhia, Rojgar Sevak, Deputy Commissioner and others he started the work with some other labourers.
But the real ordeal for the poor man and his family began when he was denied the sanctioned money `1.80 lakh to meet the expenses incurred on constructing the well and the labour cost. "I pleaded to all the officials including, BDO, DC for the money but of no help. I also appeared in a Janta Darbar organised by the DC and handed over my application to him for making the payment," said Bigan over phone.
Bigan's brinkmanship grew as in the process he was forced to administer loan from local moneylenders. He was in a hurry to complete the well considering the chances of it getting caved in during rains. Finding no other way out the man coming from backward class finally approached SDO of the area and sought permission for euthanasia.
"I had received the application about a month ago and outrightly rejected it. How can a government official allow this to happenIJ At the same time I wrote to the DDC for immediate action and for probing the matter. I am pleased to share with you that the DC has issued orders to release the payment two days ago," said Rajeev Ranjan, SDO (Sadar).
Nevertheless Bigan may have got 'reprieve' from the babudom, his struggle puts a question mark over the larger systematic failure consuming beneficiaries every day. His missive for euthanasia though churned up the wheel and investigations thereafter suggested that the Panchayat Sevak had interchanged Bigan's plot number 235 with 237.
"He wrote his actual plot number in numeric used the Devnagari which was depicted later as of English. This created the whole mess. When it came for payment the BDO objected as the well was not dug on the mentioned plot number," said Mukhiya of Katkamdag panchayat Priyanka Kumari.
She blamed the local officials for the said glitch arguing that it was the duty of the Panchayat Sevak and Karamchari to verify the correct plot number being mentioned as the beneficiary was not so literate. Though, it does not end the shuttling game, omnipresent in the system.
"The Mukhiya's role in all this is also in question. She should have verified whether the plot number belongs to Bigan Prajapati or not as the work under NREGA gets sanctioned by the Gram Sabha and on the recommendations of the Mukhiya. Suppose the payment would have been made then one day it would have become a case of forgery as the said well would not have been found on its mentioned location," said Deputy Development Commissioner of Hazaribagh Ravindra Prasad Singh.
The DDC moreover patted his own back for managing the release of the payment "in the interest of the labourer". He said he ordered to look into the khatiyan and thankfully the wrongly mentioned plot, 237, was in the name of Bigan's wife Manju Devi. "We made some corrections and have ordered to release the payment. We are working in a transparent manner in the district," lauded the official.
Amid all this, happy ending for the 'Banka live' remained that Bigan Prajapati does not go to a metro city to live an anonymous life and is still in his village waiting for some other works under MGNREGA without being aware that there are copious sagas like of his crawling in various parts of Jharkhand and of the country.