Most Sahariya hamlets tend to be located away from the main village settlement, often on hilly land, reflecting the marginalized state of the community. In Mathurapur village too the Sahariya settlement is located some distance away and even their paths have been encroached upon by others, making the approach even more difficult.

All except a very few families are landless. Only a few families have received the benefit of PM Awas scheme for housing. To get their houses constructed under this scheme, the beneficiary families had to put in some of their own contribution too, and for this they had to borrow at the high interest rate of 5% per month.

A pipeline for water has been installed here but people here have not yet started receiving water in their taps. Hence the community here is still depending entirely on two hand pumps for their water needs. In heat wave conditions these hand pumps are unable to maintain the same water yield as before, adding to the woes of people.

Hardly any employment has become available to people under NREGA or rural employment guarantee law in recent times.

Under these conditions there is no other alternative to migrate for a few weeks to various places wherever employment becomes available, in crop harvesting or any other work. However as several women here explained, conditions at these work sites can be extremely difficult as they have just a few polythene sheets, or pannies as they call them, to try to somehow obtain protection from extreme hot or cold weather, or from rains.

In another Sahariya hamlet of Semariya village women complained bitterly that sometimes the wages which has been agreed upon are not paid fully and sometimes they are even sent back without wages being paid at all.

As they are in a vulnerable condition at new places, they cannot resist such exploitative practices, they said. If the labour department intervenes in such cases promptly when complaints are made then they can hope to get some relief.

They are able to get the ration under the public distribution system, which is a big relief, but find it difficult to get the nutritious food from anganwadis, they said.

Apart from other familiar problems faced by anganwadis, this settlement also faces a special problem of excessive exposure to low-hanging high tension electricity wires, a constant source of hazard and danger.

Some time back when electric wires fell, five houses of the community were burnt as a result of this. Although some officials visited the village to make some inquiries, they have still not received any compensation for this loss, although due to their poverty and vulnerability they should have received this compensation payment very promptly. In addition they say that a protective cover below the wires should be provided to avoid such accidents in future.

Hardly any employment has become available to people under NREGA or rural employment guarantee law in recent times

While emphasizing all these problems the women of these two villages also stated with one voice that there is urgency of checking liquor consumption and addiction among male members of the community as hard earned meager income of the community, to which women also contribute a lot, is being wasted on liquor instead of improving nutrition or health or providing for better education of children.

Liquor consumption and the resulting domestic violence has a very adverse impact on children too, they said. In addition, the habit of chewing guthka is spreading very fast, adding further to health problems.

Women said with one voice that while better livelihood opportunities and welfare schemes are certainly needed, in addition social reform to reduce liquor and intoxicant consumption is a must for providing genuine relief as well as sustainable development opportunities to people.

Parmarth, a voluntary organization, has been trying to help these communities in various ways. As Gaurav Pandey, a senior member of  Parmarth’s team explains, most of the involvement is in the context of educational and water issues, but in addition the organization also tries to help in locating some employment opportunities closer to home so that dependence on migrant labour can be reduced.

However, he agrees that much more needs to be done to increase the sustainable development opportunities for the Sahariya community.

Dalip Verma, another member of Parmarth’s team more involved with Semariya settlement, says that he intends to seriously pursue the issue of getting the compensation payment for the Sahariya community’s houses burnt by high tension wires in the Sahariya hamlet of Semariya village. If this compensation payment can be arranged, it will be a welcome case of justice delayed but not denied.

*Honorary convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. Books: “Man over Machine”, ”A Day in 2071” and “Navjeevan”

Courtesy: CounterView

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What is more, corruption and payment of commissions has been avoided in this particular village, although it is a common practice elsewhere. In the case of most of the households here, almost all of the house construction (leaving aside plastering) has been completed. If several of them have not yet moved in, it is because an auspicious worship considered important in their culture is still awaited. They too will move in soon.

However, even at the peak of this success a few very troubling questions have been left behind. Even without plastering and whitewashing and some finishing touches, the government funds were not adequate for the house and as these are really very poor people with no savings and with precarious livelihoods, they had no option but to borrow the remaining money at a high rate of interest from private moneylenders.

The result is that they have the new house but have to return a high sum on weekly basis which may be very difficult to pay particularly during the lean season of livelihood opportunities. The lenders have stated clearly that they have to return the loan instalments in time no matter what the compulsions of borrowers are.

Villagers gave this breakdown of the minimal expenditure for the two room house constructed under this scheme (in Rs):

7000 bricks — 42,000

Sic quintal iron bars — 36,000

Two trolley stones (gitti) — 6000

70 sacks of cement — 22,000

Five trolleys of sand — 15,000

Doors etc. — 10,000

Mason –12,000

Plastering — 25,000

Whitewashing, misc, labour other than mason, interest payment in the course of house construction as government funds are released in instalments, money spent when overcharged etc. If toilets and washrooms are to be constructed, these too need funds. There are no toilets in this village yet.

Keeping in view all these aspects and inflation, what these villagers need is about Rs 2 lakh for a housing unit, and not Rs 1.20 lakh in three instalments (each instalment paid after certain work has been completed).

In this particular village, bribes have not been given or taken in the housing scheme, the villagers said. However, elsewhere when bribes are common, the situation becomes even more difficult for the really poor households selected under this scheme.

In this village, bribes have not been given or taken in the housing scheme. However, elsewhere the bribes are common

Another question relates to the unskilled work done by the beneficiary household members. They are supposed to be paid for this and have been told the likely sum is Rs 18,000 or so, but they have not received this yet. The scheme of Rs 12,000 for toilet construction has also not reached this village yet, and regarding this it is often stated that this amount should be increased keeping in view real expenses needed for proper construction in inflationary times.

In Dafai in some cases old kutcha houses were demolished when new ones were constructed, but in some cases these were not. I saw a new house which has been beautifully integrated with the old dwelling. This family has constructed the new house in such a way that both can be used together and are almost attached to each other with a little open space in between.

As the lady who gracefully showed me around her home said happily: “In the winter and rain I like to live in the new pucca house but in the hot weather which exists during most of the year actually I still like to live in the old mud dwelling.”

This is also a reminder of how the old kutcha house also has its uses, all the more so in times of climate change, so the best situation in many villages may be for beneficiaries of this scheme to retain both the new and the old house.

However, the new loans are truly troubling. One lady told me that her family has to pay Rs 840 per week for the next two years, while another lady said that she has to pay back Rs 1200 per week. They both said that the private moneylenders have stated very clearly that they are going to be very strict in taking back their loans in time.

Hence, there is a strong case for raising these payments and for ensuring early payment of the wages due for the household’s contributed labour. It will be helpful also to ensure that toilets and washrooms are provided wherever these do not exist. 

*Honorary convener, Campaign to Save the Earth Now. Recent books: “Protecting Earth for Children”, “Man over Machine” and “India’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food”

Courtesy: CounterView

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Bhopal: The year 2016-17 was memorable for 50-year-old Suresh Jain, as his application for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and toilet scheme, got approval. It took him three years to build a three-bedroom-toilet house for his family of four, after loaning out Rs 1.50 lakh.

Jain is a resident of Bhaukhedi village of Ichhawar tehsil in Sehore district. The village is 53-km away from the state capital, Bhopal, and is the home district of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

A below poverty line (BPL) card beneficiary, Jain, who earns Rs 5,800 a month working as a security guard at a private warehouse, was in a process of paying off that loan. But on the morning of January 30-31, 2023, a fleet of bulldozers, accompanied by policemen, landed at Bhuakhedi village and demolished his home along with 19 other houses built under the PM Awas Yojana or PMAY, labelling them as ‘encroachments’.

“I had been living in that home (demolished) since I was 10 years old,” recalled Jain, while speaking to NewsClick. “I built this house with my sweat and toil and managed to secure benefits under PMAY and the toilet schemes, but in vain.”

#Demolition #PM_Awas

At CM’s Home District Sehore, district Admin razed 20 PM Awas along with 200 other homes and a temple. It was razed for a 25-km long MPRDC’s road project.

It happened two weeks ago 52-km away from Bhopal.

None of them were offered compensation.

1/2 pic.twitter.com/kLAwYk7TPH

— काश/if Kakvi (@KashifKakvi) February 16, 2023

Similarly, the district administration razed the houses of Kailash, Mohan Nath, Dinesh Das and Sankar who were allotted homes under PMAY between 2016-17 and 2020-21.

Apart from PM Awas houses and toilets, the district administration partially demolished 200 homes, shops and a few temples built on either side of Bhuakhedi village’s main road. 

The homes were demolished to construct an 18-km-long two-lane road worth Rs 25 crore under the Bhuakhedi-Amlaha road project. The Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation (MPRDC) last year floated a tender for the road to connect Ichhawar town directly with the Indore-Bhopal highway, which passes through the middle of Bhuakhedi village.

“Over 20 homes were demolished and 200 homes were partially razed down for a road project as it was constructed on government land,” Sub Divisional Magistrate, Vishnu Prasad told NewsClick. “Since it was an encroachment, MPRDC cannot offer any compensation to the families according to the laid down laws,” he added.

Prasad further said: “According to the work plan, the road needs 52 feet width for the construction. Yet, we have only acquired 40-42 feet of land to prevent maximum damage.”

Rebuked by the officials after demolishing his PMAY home, Jain has taken shelter in a creaking two-room anganwadi centre for the past two weeks. The room neither has electricity nor water or toilet facilities. “We were already struggling to make ends meet. I have two daughters, and losing a home at this age has stunned us. It doesn’t matter who is at fault here, it is we who are suffering in the end.”

The district administration not only razed homes built under PM Awas Yojana but also razed those houses built on government-allocated pattas.

Suneel Kumar Verma (36), a bus driver, completed his four-room PM Awas home with toilet in 2021-22 on a 600 sq feet patta allocated by the government in 2013. He earns Rs 5500 a month for driving a school bus, and took a loan of Rs 2 lakh on high interest. Yet, his three rooms were razed, labelled as ‘encroachment.’

An outraged Verma questioned officials: “How is it possible to demolish a home that is built on government allocated patta and with the financial assistance from PM Awas Yojana?”

The officials, who evaded his question in the beginning, dubbed it a “mistake” when villagers demanded a reply. “It’s a mistake of the block secretary and staff. But we have instructions to clear the land for the road,” they told irate villagers, according to some eyewitness.    

An enraged Verma said: “Jab sarkar kahe, patta de do. Jab sarkare kahe, PM Awas or toilet de do. Aur jab sarkar kahe, bulldozer le kar sab ujaad do. What a system! ” (when the government wishes, you give patta; when the government says, you allot PMAY and toilets; and when the government says demolish everything, you land up with bulldozers)

Now, Verma’s four room home has shrunk to two rooms, without a toilet.

The villagers claimed that the district administration also demolished a Jain temple but refrained from bulldozing Ram Temple built on the middle of the road after facing opposition from villagers. To save the Ram temple, the administration held a slew of meetings and razed a house built under PMAY, claimed Manisha Jain, wife of Suresh Jain.

This is not the first case when a home built under PMAY was was demolished terming it “illegal.”

Last year, a day after the Khargone communal violence on April 11, the district administration demolished 49 properties along with a house built under PMAY.

When contacted, Rajesh Banasiya (40), deputy sarpanch of the village, told NewsClick that a majority of the residents are BPL card holders who had been living there for over five-six decades. 

Seeing fellow villagers homeless has Banasiya. Demanding compensation, he said: “How can the administration demolish homes built under PM Awas and rebuke the beneficiary without compensation? We are not against construction of the road, but the affected families must be compensated, as they belong to the marginalised section.” 

“When officials marked the area for demolition a month ago, villagers submitted a memorandum addressing the chief minister, district collector, SDM and local MLAs to prevent the demolition of over 150 homes and two temples falling in the marked area. The villagers also offered substitute land to divert the road and prevent the demolition, but it was turned down,” he told NewsClick.

“A memorandum was submitted to the district administration for compensation but didn’t get any response,” he added.

The administration also razed the two-room home and a government-aided toilet of 72-year-old Devkaran. He said: “We have only one room left, we have put all our belongings in it, and there is no place left even to sit. When I asked the SDM, ‘where will we live now?’, he said “we do not know all that, we have to make a 52 feet road. Your house was built illegally so it got demolished.”

Like others, Devkaran, who is a BPL card holder, is also hoping for compensation. But he says “SDM sir ne hame kaha hai koi compensation nahi milega” (SDM said we will not get any compensation).

When NewsClick reached out to PWD Minister Gopal Bhargava and Sehore district collector Praveen Singh for their response over the PMAY demolition, they were not available for comment.

But SDM Vishnu Prasad said: “After the tender, it wasn’t feasible to divert the route, as suggested by the villagers. Since it was an encroachment on government land, the department can’t pay compensation. But we are chalking out a plan to accommodate close to 20 families who have lost their homes in the eviction drive.”

He said: “Many have built houses beyond permissible limits. Therefore, we only demolished that portion.”

When questioned over the PMAY demolition, the SDM claimed that only five-six such homes were razed, while the others were partially demolished. But, deputy sarpanch Banasiya contradicted, saying many of the homes that were partially razed have no toilets. “Many families living in a one or two-room house have developed cracks which need money for repairs,” he added.

Many like Krishna Bai, a widow, who lives alone in the village, lost her home and a shop, her only source of income, in the eviction drive.

Courtesy: Newsclick

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