Praja Sankalpa Yatra Diary, Day 32: AP Farmhands Migrating Due To Denial In Employment Guarantee Scheme 

December 11, Chinnampalli Cross, Anantapur District:

Today, I wrapped up the tour of Uravakonda and entered Rapthadu assembly constituency. Erri Samanna of Jayapuram met me near Kuderu. Narrating his woes, he informed me that he hasn’t received the Employment Guarantee scheme arrears since April. As I moved a few paces ahead, Ratnamma of Talupuluru had the same story to narrate. Managing two morsels itself is an uphill task for her. “How can I ever get my child educated?” She lamented as tears rolled down her face.

Their plight set me thinking and I made some enquiries about this scheme. I gathered that the beneficiaries weren’t paid for the past five to seven months. How can dailywagers survive if the payments are pending for months? The delayed payments are the reason for thousands of farmhands migrating to Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in search of work.

I raised the issue of Anantapur farmers and their tragic migration in search of livelihood in AP Assembly earlier this year. I informed the House of instances of farmers with landholdings of as much as 10 to 20 acres, begging on the streets in neighbouring Kerala. I pointed out that had the Government implemented employment guarantee scheme sincerely, this sorry spectacle could have been avoided. But, the ruling party members tried to shout me down arguing that the farmers were migrating because the wages were higher in Kerala and other neighbouring states.

But, here today, I was listening to countless farmers and farmhands complaining about non-payment of arrears for months on end. It is clear that Government apathy is the cause for this massive migration. I remember my late father Dr YSR had launched Employment Guarantee scheme in Anantapur to prevent migration, starvation and deaths. During his time, the Government bagged several prestigious awards for the implementation of the scheme. Isn’t it indeed tragic to note that such prestigious scheme lies in shambles today? Under the TDP regime the implementation of this scheme has swung to the other extreme!

A short while later, some farm labourers met me. Eswaramma, a farmhand, sought some job to sustain herself. I asked her about her educational qualifications. What she said shocked me. She is a post-graduate in Sociology from Srikrishnadevaraya University. “I had applied for the post of an attender. But, the ruling party leaders have sold them for a price. I had even appeared for tests for constable selection without success. I am working as a farmhand after all my hopes shattered,” she told me.

I was dumbstruck. The thought that even post-graduates from the SC communities are forced to toil in the agricultural farms benumbed me. This tells us how huge the spectre of unemployment haunting our state is. Whatever happened to Chandrababu’s promise of jobs for every household and unemployment pension for all eligible unemployed youths?

As part of my padayatra, I attended a conclave of Muslim brethren. I was deeply moved by the way they recalled my father’s concern for them with gratitude. People never forget a leader who toils for them with sincerity and commitment. I met a person, whose two kids suffered dengue. As per AP Government’s guidelines, Arogya Sri does not cover Dengue. So, they had to take their kids to Bengaluru for treatment. But, all this could not save the poor children. The family lost its kids and suffered heavy financial losses. Ministers and leaders of the ruling party assured them of an ex-gratia amount of Rs 10 lakh, a job and a house. That was a year-and-a-half ago. By now, the familiar sordid saga of empty assurances and ritualistic lip service was dutifully played out all over again. This shows how concerned the Government is towards public health. Isn’t it a shame that there are no diagnostic facilities and treatment procedures worth the name in district level government hospitals? Should the poor lose the battle against afflictions like Dengue?

As I conclude, here is my poser to the Chief Minister!! Is non-payment of employment guarantee arrears not an exploitation of the poor and the suffering labourers? Shouldn’t you be held responsible for lakhs of families, including farmers with decent landholdings, taking to begging in neighbouring states?