I agree with J.P Shah. Warm Regards,
On Mon, 06 Apr 2009 Jitendra P.Shah wrote : >I am therefore suggesting formation of all India rti users' association. Babus >and politicians understand only numbers. In democracy only numbers matter. RTI >evaders are unofficially united. It is turn of RTIians to unite for a good >cause. > > >Jitendra P. Shah Junagadh-Gujarat 09924106490 >MY BLOG: jps50.blogspot.com > >--- On Mon, 6/4/09, bobby ramakant <[email protected]> wrote: > > > From: bobby ramakant <[email protected]> >Subject: [rti_india] The wages of protest >To: [email protected] >Date: Monday, 6 April, 2009, 12:08 AM > > > > > > >The wages of protest >Arundhati Dhuru & Dr Sandeep >Pandey > >[To read in Hindi language , click here ] > >[Published >in THE HINDU, 5 April 2009] >------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- ------ > >While the RTI Act and the audit provisions of NREGA >enable ordinary people to demand accountability from governments, it doesn't >always work like that on the ground. There have been several cases recently in >U.P., where the demand for rights by workers has been met with >violence⦠> >The political >ruling class has decided to deal with the demands being raised by workers for >their legal rights strongly. > >The advent of the Right to Information (RTI) Act >and the National Rural Employment >Guarantee Act (NREGA) were a breakthrough in Indian democracy. They provided >the >openings in a system which was opaque, insensitive and impersonal to the common >citizens of this country. The ruling elite which was not prepared to be >answerable to people at all had to relent. They realised that, after all, they >are functioning in a democracy which is created in the name of the people. >People began asking questions under the RTI Act and started conducting social >audits under NREGA, which were revolutionary ideas given the kind of system we >have inherited from the British and given the mindset bureaucracy develops when >it is entrenched in this system. People did achieve success using the RTI and >the social audit provision and a definite empowerment was taking place. > >However, it looks as if it's been >decided that enough is enough. People could be allowed the luxury of only so >much transparency and accountability. They could not transgress the limit >beyond >which the unquestioned supremacy of the ruling elites stood to be challenged. >The initial fear in their minds towards these pro-people laws has vanished and >now they are dealing with people demanding their basic rights under these Acts >with vengeance. They have decided to quell every voice which raises questions >about their highhandedness with utmost contempt and violence if necessary. The >administrative machinery, which is supposed to be responsible for implementing >these laws, is being used by the people's representatives with >impunity. > >Plenty of >discrepancies > >In the Dumri >Village Panchayat of Kasya Block of Kushinagar district of U.P., what started >as >an investigation into the discrepancies in Below Poverty Line survey, on a >complaint made by some villagers, turned into a full fledged investigation >into bungling in development funds >which came through the Panchayat. Discrepancies were observed by an Assistant >Commissioner in the Rural Development Department in the housing schemes for >poor >as well as NREGA. Advocate Udaybhan Yadav, who was instrumental in getting this >investigation done, was threatened by the Gram Pradhan Dinesh Verma and his >men. >On February 28, 2009, when the men of Gram Pradhan were beating a dalit >labourer >Parasuram, who was vocal in questioning the fake muster roll in which wages >were >withdrawn in his name whereas he had not even worked under NREGA, Udaybhan >intervened. He was also beaten up. A dalit, Kapil Dev, receiving patronage from >the Pradhan, registered a FIR against Udaybhan and a case under (Prevention of) >Atrocities against S.C./S.T. Act was filed. Under political pressure, Udaybhan >and his father Hari Yadav were arrested on March 9. Parasuram's brother Ram >Bharat and father Jaikaran were also arrested but released later. > >Fight for wages > >In the village Panchayat Aira Kake >Mau of Bharawan Block of Hardoi District, workers had assembled on January 14, >2009, at the door of the Gram Pradhan as previously agreed, to seek their >unpaid >wages. The husband of the Gram Pradhan, Ghanshyam, who runs the show here on >behalf of his wife, first tried to threaten the labourers. The police arrived >when the situation became tense. When the workers wanted to file complaints >against the Gram Pradhan for violation >of their rights under the NREGA, Ghanshyam ordered his men to rain lathis on >the >labourers and social activists present there in support of the workers in the >presence of the Station House Officer and the police of Atrauli Police Station. >One dalit labourer, Medai, and a social activist, Ram Bharose, sustained >injuries on the head. Although a case was filed against Ghanshyam, in spite of >repeated applications to various authorities by dalit labourers who were >present >at the site of incident, (Prevention of) Atrocities against S.C./S.T. Act has >not been used against Ghanshyam and no action has thus far been taken against >him. > >In Kopaganj Block of Mau >district, labourers from the villages Devkali, Bishunpur, Purana Kopa and >Jairamgarh, mostly women and dalit, had assembled at the office of the Block >Officer, merely eight km from the district headquarters, to demand wages due >for >the last six months. One of the labourers was called inside the office for >dialogue and beaten up by those inside. The labourers were furious. The Block >Development Officer, Ram Dular and an employee, Sanjiv Singh, had to bear the >brunt of the anger. Some women also got hurt in this scuffle. Full wages have >still not been paid and nobody involved in beating the worker has been >punished. > >In the village >Panchayat Rura of Kasmanda Block of District Sitapur, a pond deepening work was >in progress on February 28, 2009. Some women labourers wandered off to drink >water from a hand pump. The hand pump belonged to a powerful person from the >locality, Madan Dixit, popularly know as Madan Muni in this area. The women had >to face obscene comments. When the male members of the families wanted to >register their protest against these obscene remarks, they were beaten up. When >the workers reached the police station to file a case against their tormentors, >Madan Muni was already there. The workers wanted to register a case under the >(Prevention of) atrocities against the S.C./S.T. Act. The police asked them to >come next morning in an attempt to arrive at a compromise. When the workers >were >unmoved from their demand the next day, two men and two women labourers were >beaten by the police inside the police station. premises. With the help of >social organisations of the area a case was finally registered against Madan >Muni under the (Prevention of) atrocities against the S.C./S.T. Act but no >action has been taken against the police personnel who were involved in beating >the workers. > >Underpaid > >In the Cholapur Block of District Varanasi, >about 200 workers belonging to Dhaurahra, Saryan and Munari were not paid their >wages for about a month for deepening a pond in Saryan G.P. The Junior Engineer >had measured the work and calculated payment of wages at the rate of Rs. 39.80 >per day. The workers were not satisfied as for similar work in Dhaurahra G.P. >workers were paid the minimum wages of >Rs. 100 per day. On February 26, 2009, the Village Development Officer gave in >writing that all workers would be paid at the rate of Rs. 100 per day on March >3, 2009. When the workers assembled on March 5, at the Block Office, the BDO >was >absent. On the advice of a Block employee they decided to block the >Varanasi-Azamgarh Highway. The SHO of Cholapur P.S. arrived and the workers >were >lathi-charged quite mercilessly. About 50 people including approximately 10 >women were badly hurt. Heerawati, who was pregnant, was also hurt. The SHO took >20 people and 50 bicycles with him to the police station and the workers were >released on personal bonds. When asked as to what action he would take against >the VDO for violating the legal rights of workers under NREGA by not paying the >wages, the SHO said he was merely following the orders from the higher ups. He >refused to reveal the name of the officer who had ordered lathi charge. The >next >day, wages at the rate of Rs. 42 per day were transferred into the accounts of >the labourers. > >The repression >of workers is now emerging as a trend. The political ruling class has decided >to >deal with the demands being raised by workers for their legal rights strongly. >The workers will be punished. The ruling elites realise that these demands >ultimately will lead to a clamour for a more equitable society and wider and >deeper participation of workers in the decision making process in our >democracy. >They do not want to give away this power easily. The above-mentioned incidents >also indicate that the workers are now getting better organised than before. >NREGA has at >least helped achieve that. We hope that the problems of workers will be >resolved >within the constitutional framework peacefully and will lead to further >democratisation of society and government. > >Arundhati Dhuru & Dr Sandeep >Pandey >[Published in THE HINDU, 5 April >2009] > >New Email addresses available on Yahoo! >Get the Email name you've always wanted on the new @ymail and @rocketmail. >Hurry before someone else does! >http://mail. promotions. yahoo.com/ newdomains/ aa/ > >[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to > http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/ > >[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
