AHMEDABAD: An RTI filed by RTI activists in Gujarat revealed that in ten years, 26 MPs representing the Lok Sabha in Gujarat have adopted only 106 villages, compared to the aim of 130 villages under the “Adarsh Gram Yojana”.
Furthermore, these 106 villages have not undergone any social audits in the preceding decade. Pankti Jog, an RTI activist and Janpath NGO Coordinator, recently submitted a request under the RTI Act to the Gujarat Government. The obtained response uncovered significant gaps in accountability within the administration.
Notably, it revealed pending social audits for 106 villages enrolled in the Adarsh Gram Yojana. Additionally, it shed light on the absence of progress reports or statistical data regarding the implementation of MPLAD funds for village development, particularly within the ambit of the "Adarsh Gram scheme" in Gujarat.
Furthermore, the Village Development Commissioner within the General Administration Department (G.A.D) is implicated in this lack of transparency.
Pankti Jog remarked, "In response to our RTI inquiry, we found that there is a glaring absence of information regarding expenditure and undertaken projects in the adopted villages. Neither the district level planning board, district development officer, collector nor the DRDA could provide any details."
"Our RTI led to the transformation of 33 District Development Officers into Taluka Development Officers, subsequently delegated to Gram Panchayats. We have reached out to them seeking certified copies of audited financial statements for the 'Adarsh MP Gram Yojana' until October 31, 2023. To date, only Vanpari village in Paddhari taluka, Rajkot district, has furnished their audited accounts," she asserted.
"When we highlighted this issue to them, they promptly uploaded a comprehensive report on their website, claiming a 100 percent completion rate of work aligned with the GPDP. However, there was a conspicuous absence of statistical evidence or supporting information," remarked Pankti Jog.
Out of the 106 villages enrolled in the MP Gram Yojana, the government has showcased a case study of Padharia village in Mehsana district, according to the RTI report. It was revealed that approximately 1200 laborers were registered, yet only 22 job cards were active, indicating actual employment. Astonishingly, these 22 individuals received an average of merely 30 man-days of work annually.
How many villages did Gujarat's MPs adopt, and which ones?
1. Under this scheme, each Member of Parliament was required to adopt 3 villages until 2019 and 5 villages from 2019 to 2024.
2. 26 MPs of Gujarat adopted a total of 106 villages from 82 talukas across 29 districts during the five years from 2019 to 2024. Among the plan's set targets, 130 villages were slated for adoption.