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“Our village is divided into two factions, one side is all for the BJP the other is all about the Congress,” said Rameshbhai, a grocer and one of the 4,800 residents living in Maghrol village.
Maghrol is a relatively big village located around 30 kms away from Anand District Headquarters. On 17 May 2016, Rajya Sabha MP and the Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani adopted the village under the ambitious Sansad Aadarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
However, things have not been smooth for Irani or Maghrol ever since the former adopted the village under SAGY. Irani has been accused of misappropriating the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds and coercing local authorities in Anand to pick an NGO of her choice for developmental work there.
When The Quint visited Maghrol, local villagers presented divided opinions on the actual work done on the ground. Some openly accused Irani of a lax attitude and blatant corruption, while others were grateful for the roads built and the water connections at their homes. Irani has visited Maghrol thrice so far.
A Divided Village
Arvindbhai Rathod’s wife is the deputy sarpanch at the village and he said, “A few issues have been tackled and a few haven’t seen any actionable approach. Corruption was prevalent in the construction of the community halls. The rubber pitching project of the lake was also a corruption platform.”
“As per my knowledge, around 55% of the houses in the village now have toilets but, 40-50% percent houses are yet to get one. Two toilets were constructed in Smriti Irani’s village and the cost of their construction Rs 5 lakh each has also been made public. But, no holes have been dug in the earth to create toilets so, people still venture out for their ablutions.”Arvindbhai Rathod, Villager
Meanwhile others such as Nandubhai claims that work has been done. He said, “RCC roads have been made and water supply is in place now. Having said that, it is not nearly up to the quantity we actually need. But, there is a water tank now and a dairy so, everything is much more organised now. We really can’t blame Smriti Irani as has provided us with toilets but people don’t want to use them. Instead, they take money for them. She provided the amenity to us, so, we are the ones who should avail them. I think the people are to blame for this.”
All villagers unanimously agreed to the fact that no one received any benefit from Pradhan Mantri Rojgar yojna, Mudra Scheme, Jan Dhan Yojna, etc. Instead, villagers have received 100 days employment under MGNREGA.
Scale of the Alleged Corruption
According to a high-ranking official in the Anand Collectorate around Rs 69 lakh was spent on one of the two crematoriums built in the village. The funds were allocated to Shri Sharda Majoor Kamdar Sahkari Mandli (SSMKSM) who promised to build an electric crematorium where wood will not be used. Yet on the ground there is no electric crematorium in the village.
Besides this, Rs 55 lakh was spent on the beautification of the pond at the entrance of the village which too has not seen any work done on it. The Quint had previously tried to reach out to Smriti Irani about the allegations levelled against her, but no response was forthcoming.
The collector of Anand had issued a notice to Mandili and fined them Rs 4.08 crore for not doing any development work. Irani’s office has been accused of coercing the Anand Collectorate Office to only grant developmental work to the Mandili.
Yet ins spite of the scale of corruption alleged against Irani and the Mandili, the villagers of Maghrol are still undecided.
“Corruption is everywhere. It has become a way of life. When you work for something, you always want some compensation in return. The rumour mill cannot be silenced. Opposition sides will always make claims that the other one has indulged in corruption. Besides, our village is divided into two factions, one side is all for the BJP the other for the Congress.”Rameshbhai, VIllager
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