Bandhugaon PRI members to withdraw resignation on fulfilment of demands

OST Bureau

Koraput, Jan 4:

The impasse created by the en masse resignation of elected people’s representatives in Maoist infested Bandhugaon block in Koraput block seems to be heading towards a solution though with a rider.

The district administration here on Friday held a meeting at the DRDA conference hall with the PRIs of Bandhugaon block, who have earlier tendered their resignations alleging no developmental work in their areas. District collector Sachin Ramchandra Yadav, who chaired the meeting with the PRI members, agreed to fulfil their nine-point charter of demands.

However, Bandhugaon block chairperson Pidika Ambe said that they will be withdrawing their resignations only after their demands are fulfilled.

The elected people’s representatives had a host of complaints against the administration at the meeting on Friday. Accusing block authorities of neglecting elected peoples’ representatives, they said they did not get replies from the block for months together on their queries pertaining to the list of beneficiaries under different government schemes and allowances.

They complained to the collector about elected people’s representatives not being included in any of the programmes in the block. They told the collector that a majority of people in the 12 panchayats of the block didn’t have a BPL card nor were they getting their quota of kerosene. People cultivating anabadi land for over 20 years were not being issued with pattas under the Forest Rights Act whereas people who are cultivating encroached land over a period of two years were being issued pattas, complained elected peoples representatives from Bandhugaon at the meeting.

Chairperson of Bandhugaon block Pidika Ambe alleged that while there had been a long standing demand for providing land to the landless, no one was lending an ear to the demand. Zilla parishad member Kanda Tamra Lacha said the delay in completion of the Chintaguda dam was affecting the irrigation causing large scale difficulties for the farmers. He said most of the lift irrigation points remained defunct in the block due to poor or no maintenance.

Admitting that repair of LI points could not be done at the desired pace, the collector attributed the failure to the dearth of employees at the rural drinking water supply department in the block office.

Collector Yadav assured the elected peoples representatives of stringent action against block authorities if any complaint of neglect shown towards them was reported. He ordered the organisation of a skill improvement workshop for the elected people’s representatives of Bandhugaon in the last week of January.