Alleged water tanker scam versus the public’s real needs in Rewa and Mauganj
The report questioned water tankers distributed by MPs and MLAs without gram sabha proposals, and a forum convener demanded a high-level inquiry while a hearse van demand remained unmet.
Whether in Rewa or in Mauganj district, MPs and MLAs had for years been distributing water tankers worth crores of rupees. But the big question was: which gram sabha had demanded and proposed tankers? If there was no gram sabha proposal, why and on what basis were tankers given?
On investigation, it emerged that in many panchayats 10-15 tankers were shown on record, but tankers never reached the ground. The same suppliers kept sending old tankers around, passing them off as new. This was a scam worth crores, the report alleged.
The latest case concerned Rampur in Naigarhi Janpad Panchayat. A viral list showed two tankers, though 10-15 tankers had already been reported as allotted. The reality was that the sarpanch himself admitted only one tanker had been received up to then. Where the rest went, nobody knew.
Convener of the August Kranti Manch, Kunj Bihari Tiwari, demanded a high-level inquiry committee into the entire matter. He said:
“Not even a hearse van is being provided despite public demand, while a crores-worth game is being played in tankers. Poor families are still forced to carry their dead on shoulders, handcarts or bicycles; this is a shame for the entire region.”
Naigarhi Janpad Panchayat president Mamta Kunj Bihari Tiwari said the demand for a hearse van had been made by writing to the Rewa Collector through former in-charge minister Bisahulal, but no approval had been received up to then.
This made it clear that
the public’s real needs were being ignored.
Public money was allegedly being sunk into tankers through corruption and fraud.
The poor and common man was still deprived of a basic facility (a hearse van).
