Palamu administration is in full gears to complete a target of 9,000 plus dovas in its 1,900 villages. Reaching full earth work target in Palamu is always a distant affair but completing 60 to 70 per cent of the earth work target is considered a good job done here said a former DC of Palamu.
The administration has completed 2,600 dovas. As Palamu comes under rain shadow the arrival of monsoon here is late in comparison to other districts. A late rain here is a kind of boon for the dova makers. Earth work is stopped if rains are around.
Deputy Commissioner Palamu Ameet Kumar confirmed that 2,600 dovas have been readied to retain the rain water/surface water. He said by June 20 or 22 when monsoon breaks in this rain shadow district usually there would be another fleet of 2,000 to 3,000 dovas ready for management of surface water here.
Sources said 60 per cent of this 9,000 plus dovas is expected to be readied before rains come here in the third week of June. Palamu has a history of long dry spell even in good monsoon season and hence a week long dry spell can see a re start of work on underway dovas here said one block official.
The huge inspecting team that came here last week in Palamu from Ranchi to make an on the spot assessment of dovas found some major follies in the digging of dovas here like faulty sites of dovas, no proper catchment area digging by JCB machine not by labourers hands error filled management of dovas by Mate mukhiya rozgar sewaks and panchayat sewak etc.
The DC conceded that the visiting inspecting team did really find errors in Chhatarpur area where at some sites JCB machine was put to use depriving registered MGNREGA labourers of their work opportunity and wages. The team had asked the Palamu administration to pull up BDOs Rozgar Sewaks Mates and erring Mukhiyas too under the provisions as laid down in MGNREG Act..
Tribal farmers too are getting inclined towards dovas. A small hamlet under Padwa block some tribal farmers and backward class farmers reached DC Ameet Kumar who made a surprise inspection of dovas coming up there in this Padwa and demanded dovas on their plot of land a fact confirmed by Kumar himself.