Pranab Mondal By

JHARGRAM: It’s hard not to notice the poverty that reeks out of the villages of Jungle Mahal, one of the most backward regions in West Bengal. Weather-beaten mud huts with thatched roofs and cracking walls are surrounded by large, uncultivated paddy fields. The condition of their inhabitants are no better: bare-chested men clad only in lungis, women draped in blouse-less saris and malnourished children with sunken cheeks share space with goats and other livestock. They are living testimonies of the area’s impoverishment.

Yet, rapacious elements of the ruling Trinamool Congress did not spare them even, extracting cut money, or kickbacks, from these poverty-stricken people in return for government benefits that are their right and due. From old age pension and cash transfer under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Grameen to widow pension, Trinamool activists have extorted money for every scheme that is targeted at uplifting the weaker sections.

At Kurchimoni village poverty and resentment are being reflected in every corner of the hamlet inhabited by 40 families. When the vehicle of this correspondent entered the narrow road of the village, the locals comprising men, women and children surrounded it assuming a government representative had arrived to listen to their plight. Within minutes, the number of villagers assembled near the car swelled to nearly 100.

There are few pucca houses in the village which were given to a handful of people, who managed to bribe local Trinamool leaders, under the scheme of Bangla Awas Yojana, a housing scheme for the poor. The rest of the houses are mud-huts with thatched roofs and clay tiles. Many of them are in dilapidated conditions and the owners do not have the funds to renovate it. They use tarpaulin sheets to cover the broken roofs. The literacy rate in Binpur-II block is a little over 70% of the total population over six years. In most of the areas, children, attracted by the mid-day meal scheme, go to schools and hardly pursue higher education.

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At Dahijuri, around 25 km from Kurchimoni, the two-storey panchayat building has a CCTV installed on its wall but the civic body did not respond to 32-year-old Bharat Mallick’s plea for a house. The tribal youth lives in a mud hut, barely 100 m from the panchayat building.

“Every night I go to sleep with my wife, 8-year-old son and my brother Bikash with the fear of being victims of house collapse. I am a daily labourer. I appealed several times for a house, but no one paid any heed to my plea,’’ said Bharat.

Falguni Dey, the Pradhan of Dahijuri gram panchayat, said the poor are being brought under the government’s schemes every year and these people will also be listed as beneficiaries shortly. She, however, said she is not aware of bribes demanded by local Trinamool leaders. Demand for return of cut money is spreading day by day across the state and people already staged demonstrations at the homes of Trinamool leaders. In less than 10 days, 58 such protests have taken place.

The grievance cell set up at Nabanna, the state secretariat, following a diktat by Mamata, received more than 6,000 complaints. In the Assembly, the Bengal chief minister claimed 60% of these complaints have been addressed.

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Protests

On Friday, a group of cut money victims staged a demonstration in front of the house of Trinamool minister from Hooghly Tapan Dasgupta with placards and posters. The police arrested BJP’s youth wing leader Suresh Shaw. A Trinamool member of Koijhor gram panchayat in East Burdwan district, Mrinal Pal, admitted his guilt and confessed he had taken cut money from 42 persons. “I took Rs 3,000 from each of them and I apologise for it. I will refund the money within two months,’’ he said.

A Trinamool leader in Mangalkot has already returned cut money to 141 persons that he had taken for giving them jobs under MGNREGA scheme. Mamata held a meeting with party workers from West Midnapore district on Friday at the party’s headquarters in Kolkata where election analyst Prashant Kishor, who was hired by the ruling party after its debacle in the LS polls, was present. Kishor, who did not utter a single word in the meeting, noted down the questions asked by Mamata and answers replied by her party workers.

The profiles of those being exploited underline the depths to which Trinamool workers have sunk. Almost all of them are extremely poor, they are vulnerable people such as the aged and widows, and they belong to backward classes or tribes.

Here is a sample of some of the victims of cut money:

SHEIKH SAMIRUDDIN, senior citizen

Samiruddin, 65, of Belpahari in Binpur-II block used to be a daily wage labourer until two years back. But when his health started failing because of cardiac complications, he gave up work although he has a daughter and her two sons to feed. His son-in-law has abandoned them and lives in another village.

This is when he applied for the government’s old age pension. Under the scheme, those who are above the age of 60 and fall below the poverty line are eligible for Rs 1,000 a month as an old age pension.

Soilee Mallick

But unable to get his due, he gave Rs 20,000 as cut money to a local Trinamool activist, Habibur Rahman. Samiruddin said he had to sell three goats to arrange for the bribe. "I cannot work because of my physical condition so my daughter runs the family by selling bread and cakes in a local market. I heard the chief minister has asked her men to refund the money they had taken so I asked Rahman but he refused," Samiruddin said. When contacted, Rahman said the money was taken to carry out the party’s welfare activities in the area.

SOILEE MALLICK, widow and tribal

Soilee, 75, a resident of Dahijuri, is tribal. She lost her husband five years back to diarrhoea. “I could not take him to the district hospital because I could not afford to hire a vehicle,” she said.

She has two sons who work in the nearby fields as daily wage workers. As their earnings are meagre, she applied for widow pension of Rs 1,000 monthly four years back.

Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t get her due. But instead of helping her, local Trinamool workers didn’t spare her even. “Kanchan Sheet, a local Trinamool leader, demanded Rs 3,000 from me, which I could not arrange. I gave him Rs 2,000 two years ago but I have not got any pension so far,” Soilee said.

She alleged that Sheet has stopped visiting her village now. Soilee was unaware of Mamata Banerjee’s instruction to party cadres to return the cut money they had collected.

MITHU RUIDAS, widow and OBC

Mithu, 70, of Kurchimoni village lives alone in her one room, electricity-less hutment. Her husband died five years back and her only son has abandoned her. She ekes out a living collecting wood and saal leaves from the forests, the sale of which fetches her about Rs 80-100 daily. Two year back she applied for funds to build a pucca house under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Grameen, which entitles her to get Rs 2.50 lakh in three instalments. But despite giving a cut money of Rs 15,000 to local Trinamool leader Rathin Mahato two years back to get her name enlisted as a beneficiary under the Awas Yojana, she is yet to get a concrete roof over her head.

‘‘Whenever I ask Rathin he gives me false promises that I will get the grant for the house the next time. How can I build a house with my small earnings?” Mithu asked. When questioned about this, Rathin said: "The money was collected to carry out some welfare work initiated by our party," refusing to spell out the nature of the work.

MIHIR RUIDAS, job seeker and OBC

Fifty-three year-old Mihir is a marginal farmer belonging to Kurchimoni village. He owns two bighas of land in which he cultivates paddy during the monsoon. But the rest of the year the land remains uncultivated owing to lack of irrigation facilities. So he is forced to work as a daily wage earner. “Since I don’t have any job I go to other districts to work as a migrant labourer,” Mihir said. But even getting work under the MGNREGA scheme does not come easy, he has to pay off Trinamool workers to be eligible.

“I had to give Rs 1,500 to get a job under the scheme,” he said. Baren Banerjee, the block development officer of Binpur-II block, said complaints lodged by cut money victims would be heard every Monday from July 1. Necessary action would be initiated accordingly, he added.

MAMONI HALDER, 28: "Sold my jewellery and paid Rs 50,000 for a job"

Mamoni Halder, 28, of Dumuria village at Belpahari in the Bengal—Jharkhand region was abandoned by her husband four years ago. Her father Tapas Halder had borrowed money for her marriage four years ago. “He gifted me jewellery worth Rs 50,000. My father is a daily wage earner. I was looking for a job desperately. One of them demanded Rs 70,000. I was not in a position to shell out the huge sum. I requested him to reconsider the amount and he agreed to take Rs 50,000. Three years ago, I sold all my jewellery to bribe Mahato.

The jewellery was the only valuable item that our family had,’’ she said. Mamoni’s dream of getting a job was shattered when Mahato stopped responding to her pleas. “My father worked hard to ensure my education. I completed my graduation from a local college. When I asked Mahato about my job at the ICDS centre, he said the matter was not in his control anymore. I requested him to refund the money but he threatened me. I did not dare to protest because I am the only earning member of the family. My father is sick and cannot work as a labourer anymore and my mother is a homemaker. I do private tuitions to run my three-member family,’’ said Mamoni.

Mamoni heard about the grievance cell that was set up after chief minister Mamata Banerjee issued a diktat to her party leaders asking them to return the money if they have taken. But she is scared to lodge a complaint against Mahato. “I return home through forest roads at night, after attending my tuition classes. Who will protect me if I am attacked after lodging the complaint?’’ she asked.

BHAJAHARI RUIDAS, 58 - Bribe rate: Rs 15,000 for a house, Rs 12,000 for a job

Bhajahari Ruidas had to pay a bribe to

get a house at Kurchimoni village.

(Photo | Pranab Mondal)

Bhajahari Ruidas, 58, broke down when asked whether he got a house under the government scheme. “I had to give Rs 15,000 for getting the house. I have no steady job to support my four-member family, my wife and two daughters. I requested Sandip Singh, a local Trinamool leader, for a job under MGNREGA scheme. He demanded Rs 2,000 as bribe. I could not meet his demand. I do not have any land to cultivate rice. Land produces crop only in monsoon and the rest of the year it remains unutilised. I work as a daily labourer in monsoon season only. Throughout the year, I don’t know where my next meal will come from,’’ he said with tears rolling down his face. Bhajahari sometimes go to other districts to work as a migrant labourer. Otherwise, he collects saal and kendu leaves for survival.

NAYAN RUIDAS, 78 - Blind man waiting for pension since 2011

Nayan Ruidas, 78, was seen walking with a stick on the village road. He was not in a position to walk under the scorching heat and a village youth helped him to sit on the courtyard of a house. Nayan is a blind man. His wife Jayanti, too, lost her vision. “My only son works as a helper of a truck driver. Five members of our family survive on his earning which is Rs 200 per day. I go out for begging to support my son. I applied for old age pension of Rs 1,000 per month in 2011 shortly after Mamata announced the scheme. But I am still yet to receive it. No Trinamool leaders demanded bribe for me because they possibly realised I will not be able to give them even Rs 100 if they want,’’ said Nayan.

SAMIR NAYEK, 38, handicapped

Dahijuri resident Samir Nayek, 38, is a wheelchair-bound handicapped but his appeal for a monthly help of Rs 1,000 under the scheme for physically disabled persons fell on deaf ears. “My father is a daily labourer and he had to feed five of us. I cannot work. I am a burden on my family. My appeal was not accepted because I could not pay bribe to local Trinamool leaders,” said Samir.