Dravids, Tendulkars, Bachchans are all casual labourers of Chimbel

l Over 70 people registered as labourers to avail government work in the name of India’s best cricketers and actors, in just one village
l They all have job cards and wages for labour disbursed in bank accounts in these names
l  Even CM not spared. Fake identity in Manohar Parrikar’s name created and registered by the RDA
TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: This scam of huge proportions, of the government’s most publicized employment guarantee scheme, scheme in his good name, is enough to make Mahatma Gandhi get up from his grave and walk to Goa.
Making a mockery of the central government’s prestigious MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee) scheme, thousands of people with fake identities of huge celebrities — mainly cricketers and actors – have got themselves registered as beneficiaries — poor people below the poverty line.
These so called ‘beneficiaries’, with celebrity names like the best cricketers India has had, are all registered with job cards to avail of the government’s employment scheme of a minimum of 100 days work at Rs 157. Shockingly, the office of the North Goa Rural Development Agency (RDA) has not only registered but has started putting funds into bank accounts in these names for alleged work done by them. These names have therefore been entered in the MIS system available to the Union Ministry of Rural Development.
In just one village of Chimbel there are about 70 such fake names who get jobs and wages but aren’t really there.
The poor job seeking beneficiaries of Chimbel have got job cards in the names of “Sachin Tendulkar test” (with their wife and sons as Anjali and Arjun Tendulkar) “Rahul Dravid test” with a son called Arjun Dravid. Then there is a Saurav Ganguly, with wife Dona Ganguly — the actual name of his wife. The master blaster Tendulkars family is seen registered twice in the list. The two different registration numbers are — GO-01-001-028-001/10056 and GO-01-001-028-001/10063.
The name list expands to Australian captain Ricky Ponting. Yes, you read that right, there is a Ricky Ponting who is a resident of Chimbel earning Rs 150 a day for 100 days of work like carrying bricks or paving roads. Riky Ponting of Chimbel has a wife registered as Rosy Ponting.
Bollywood is represented with the entire Bachchan clan of Amitabh, wife Jaya, son Abhishekh and daughter-in-law Aishwariya Rai as below poverty line job seekers. At this rate Aishwariya’s two-year-old Aaradhaya perhaps would have made it if not for her age. There is an Amir Khan, Paresh Rawal and even the very late legendry singer Kishore Kumar as all MGNREGA beneficiaries of Chimbel.
The Tendulkars and Bachchans have been listed as “casual labourers”.
These glaring illegalities were exposed by Goa Parivartan Manch (GPM) who on Friday petitioned President of India Pranab Mukherjiee demanding through inquiry and scrutiny of the implementation of the MGNREGA scheme in Goa. We allege a multi-crore scam in the MGNREGA scheme. The fraud has taken place in connivance with the local officials of Rural and Development Authority, the nodal implementing agency of the scheme,” GPM convenor Adv Yatish Naik told journalists.
But we save the best for last. A certain “Manohar Parrikar” with ‘family members, Meena, Rahul and Mrinal Parrikar are also on the beneficiary list. This makes the mockery, shame and the brazenness by which the Goa Rural Development Agency has been creating fraud beneficiaries absolutely complete.
If even the Chief Minister’s name is not spared to create fake identities in India’s largest social security programme, are we anything but a banana republic and a peanut State?