URGENT ACTION NEEDED FOR THE MIGRANTS : REQUIRED UNDERSTANDING AND HUMANE APPROACH

URGENT ACTION NEEDED FOR THE MIGRANTS : REQUIRED UNDERSTANDING AND HUMANE APPROACH
I feel terribly pained to know that one of the migrants from Kashipur who was apparently working in Bomikhal areas of Bhubaneswar had returned to Rayagada and after required quarantine period came back to his village. There he was completely ostracised; was humiliated day in and day out and was not even allowed to talk. He took poison and committed suicide. None was there to take him to hospital. None could know that he had died tragically! I know it is an extreme case but it shows that in remote areas things can go wrong.

The other case is that I meet a couple regularly during my morning walk and ask them about their welfare. They say that their two sons who were working in Visakhapatnam were forced to walk back to Kashipur as the factory where they were working was closed. On Odisha - AP Boarder, they were caught and were taken to a quarantine centre at Rayagada. Parents were eagerly waiting for their return, spending anxious moments! 

I am sure all our friends know the status of the migrants who have already returned and who would be returning soon. Looking at the enormous issues and the way, the migrants are being treated everywhere, it seems something has seriously gone amiss! To my mind it is the lack of proper understanding and a Humane Approach! Those migrants who are stranded have been reduced to beggars despite many State Governments, Philanthropic Organisations, Concerned Citizens have made enormous efforts to feed them. But to feed Lakhs of migrants , is not an easy job! Protests have erupted which could be a natural response. Gandhiji has aptly said- FOR A MAN WITH EMPTY STOMACH, FOOD IS GOD! Do we agree or disagree?

The Migrants have been kept in isolation and have been forced to obey lots of rules and regulations as per the COVID-19 requirements but has it been done with the understanding that they have been victimised for no reason nor any crime!

All Migrants must return to their home and the State should make all provisions to bring them back. This should be done at the earliest. I am sure the Government is working a system for this. The Train/Bus travel must be free of cost. There cannot any bargaining or politics.

After their return, they must be put in the mandatory Quarantine. Here the approach should be of persuasion and not threat and intimidation. The Authorities who are handling the issue must understand that there should be a collaborative framework for making the Migrants understand that for the safety of their families and their communities, they must undergo a period of quarantine. Shuttle counselling is required at this point and the officials handing them must enlist the support of NGOs/CBOs/ Volunteers. The trust deficit built over last few years must be removed. 

The Quarantine Centres must be so designed that it does not give an impression of a prison but a place of joy. It can be converted as Learning Centres. I am told some experts are working on a 14-day Schedule. I think on Food, Drinking Water and Sanitation, there must be adequate arrangements as per the announced policy of the Government. I saw a Menu announced by the Collector, Ganjam. Nice to see it but let there be a Transparent and Accountable System. The District Administration must open a control room to address the grievances of the Migrants who have returned. Here the NGOs/CBOs have a role to give a honest feed back to Administration. The Media should be allowed to visit these centres and report on the state of affairs freely and without prejudice! The people of Odisha have a right to know how the fellow Odia Migrants are treated!

The Cutting Edge of the delivery is the Panchayats. The question comes whether our panchayats are equipped to handle such a situation? Whether our Sarpanches and PRI Functionaries have been asked an opinion if they will be taking up responsibilities with a smile? Over a period time, our PRIs have been reduced to a state of helplessness being manipulated by the Bureaucracy and Party Politics. Has the 73rd and 74th Amendment and PESA Act etc. have been properly enforced? Has there been a framework of Rules and Processes? In Odisha, PESA Rules have not been finalised as yet despite having 23% of the Population as STs. And all Gram Sabha decisions have been manufactured. There must be fool proof system to ensure that all the deserving eligible people have their BPL cards, Job Cards, Pension and other Social Security entitlements. We are checking in many villages and there are still many excluded households and nobody to help them.

The greatest challenge for all of us is as how we transcend the Relief Mindset to Development Goals? Such a huge labour force available in the villages and how we should motivate the migrants to join the sustainable development processes so that they do not have to face such humiliation and dehumanisation?

We have always advocated a collaborative framework of development involving the Government, the GPs, the NGOs and above all the communities. I know there have been many plans made at the GP level like GPDP etc.It is time to activate them recovering them from the Archives and Wastepaper Baskets. There is a specific role for the NGOs/CSOs in this collaborative framework which should be recognised.

I urge the Authorities to have a U-turn of their mindset and treat the issues just not as a Law and Order or Enforcement issues but as issues of Socio-economic Transformation. Let a new chapter begin. I urge every one to read the Famous Gyanpith Award winning Novel MATI MATALA of Gopi Mohanty. Odisha is waiting eagerly for many Rabis and Chhabis ( Heroes of the Novel) for reimagination of a new Society!

IMPLEMENTATION OF MGNREGS IN NABARANGAPUR: AN INSPIRATIONAL EXAMPLE IN AN ASPIRATIONAL DISTRICT

IMPLEMENTATION OF MGNREGS IN NABARANGAPUR: AN INSPIRATIONAL EXAMPLE IN AN ASPIRATIONAL DISTRICT 

In this troubled time of COVID-19 Pandemic , Lockdowns and Shutdowns, there in unimaginable hardship, pain, inconvenience and, above all, fear psychosis faced by every human being across the Globe. The daily bulletin of Persons tested positive, persons recovered and Number of Deaths has been frightening though there has been the incessant fight to contain the Pandemic. It seems NOW there is a turn of the tide as things are being contained and managed so that many things could be revived, special normal Life and Economy. I doubt if things will be brought back to pre-Covid 19 state. Even if there is a cure; there is a Vaccine, this scar will remain!

In this extraordinary time and situation, I have not lost faith in two things - a) We can fight back by Efforts of Each One of Us and Union Of All, b) We can Build a New Society by a new Paradigm of Development Planning and Implementation. Disaster can give impetus to Development.
I can see it all across - the Reimagining and Recreating.

I have always thought that a time has come to come back to BASICS, the Gandhian visualisation of Gram Swaraj and there will be self-sustaning communities with the foundation of “The world has enough for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed.” 

I know people especially the tribals across the country will face Food and Livelihood Insecurities during this COVID-19 Pandemic, especially Small Land Holders and Poor Households which are the victims of Distress Migration. To my mind, they have to be brought back to Sustainable Agriculture somehow by changing our policies and practices. We have to see that everyone is growing crops they want to eat and market. For this what is needed is Soil and Water Conservation, Revival of Forests and Ecology, Conservation of Local seeds, and above all the reassertion of Putting the Farmers First. Many as I notice argue that our Agriculture Sector will not absorb the large labour force and the Income from the Small Landholding will not be enough! It may be partially correct but we can have a robust Rural and Tribal Economy by both On Farm and Off Farm activities. We can have processing and marketing of Non-timber Forest Produce. We can have combination of a range of strategies to ensure Sustainable Livelihood. We have shown that Family Farms in Ecovillages promoted by Agragamee are Pulling many Households out of poverty. We have observed that Farmers covered under Odisha Millet Mission are ensuring their Food and Nutrition Securities.

I have been advocating on GO-NGO/CSO Collaboration in the present context and the large scale implementation of MGNREGS. I have written to authorities , especially to several Collectors and the best response has come from the Collector Nabarangapur. The Land Development of 180 tribal families in Tentulikhunti Block who have got land under FRA have been started under MGNREGS and some of the Photographs are attached. A Repair of Water Harvesting Structure and Farm Ponds are about to start under MGNREGS on priority basis with Agragamee's support of Mobilisation. The Collector Nabarangapur has shared updates on MGNREGS and some photographs are attached herewith. He has a Target of generating 50000 person days per day across the district. I congratulate him and his team for such great initiative and such commitment!

I am sure the Collectors of other districts have such initiative. Our NGOs friends from Bolangir like Bolangir Bikash Parishad have indicated that the Collector Bolangir has taken up large scale MGNREGS work across the district to generate employment for the Poor Households especially Migrants. I also congratulate him.

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STRENGTHENING THE PRIs IS THE NEED OF THE HOUR

STRENGTHENING THE PRIs IS THE NEED OF THE HOUR

Years back, when the Left Wing Extremism was on the rise , the then Planning Commission had convened a consultative meeting in which we, a selected group Grass Root NGOs had participated. The general consensus emerged that all the Rural/Tribal Problems would be solved if the PRIs are strengthened for effective GOVERNANCE ( Ref: Expert Group on “Development Issues to Deal with the Causes of Discontent, Unrest and Extremism” headed by Mr D.Bandyupdhyay submitted its Report in April 2008). Late Dr. B.D.Sharma under the aegis of Ministry of Panchayati Raj had headed a committee to improve the Functioning of the GRAM SABHAS. [ The Sapatapdi ( Seven Steps) of Tribal Empowerment by Dr. B.D.Sharma and the link is https://www.slideshare.net/pr…/scheduled-tribes-by-bd-sharma].

We welcome the  Government decision  that the Panchayats in Odisha will handle the issues of Migrants in all respects including the managing of Quarantine Centres. But if one looks deeply and analyse the ground reality, is the Panchayat ready for addressing the issues of the Migrants as well as managing the programmes like MGNREGS, Odisha Livelihood Missions and a host of other programmes? Have our Sarpanches and other PRI Functionaries been properly trained and oriented to manage things with efficiency and effectiveness? Have the Training Institutes ( NIRD, SIRD, NGOs) ever tried to find out why things have gone wrong ? How many Sarpanches have gone beyond the process of recovery of their expenses on their election? How many Sarpanches have challenged the wrong decision taken by the PEOs/BDOs/MLAs? Has there been an independent study how many decisions of the Gram Sabhas have been taken correctly and implemented? In how many cases, the Lady Sarpanches are the actual Sarpanches and not replaced by their husbands, brothers, in-laws? I leave it to my friends to find out for themselves.

I was involved in a Project Under Right to Information Act(RTI) under Section 4.1(b) in which the Public Authorities have to share information.  The information was seldom supplied nor demanded at the community level. The Government of Odisha  has published many Leaflets,Posters,Booklets to share information on various Government Schemes  but the outreach was very limited. For example, there was publication of a Booklet AAINA which was a compendium of various Government Schemes.  I found that in many Panchayat Offices, the these booklets were laying abandoned.  I had cross-checked with many Sarpanches who could not tell what was the Minimum Wage under MGNREGS and how different it was from the State Minimum Wage. 

Many of our friends having deep understanding of the PRIs and the prevalent System in Odisha, doubt very much if the Quarantine Centres can be managed well and with desired results. How can the QCs be made into a place of Joy and Hope? The challenges are many – a) How can the Migrants get their legitimate entitlements?, b) How can the creative energy of the Migrants be transformed to an Model Centre? Or a LEARNING CENTRE? How can the migrants have access to information? Our NGO Friends are working on a 14-Day Schedule based on decades of organising Rural camps. There can be songs and dances; Games and Sports; there can be story telling; there can be interactive sessions to share living experiences and also there can be skill development. What is important is the Facilitation. Can the Saprpanch with aid of Cutting-edge village level workers be such a Facilitator? Here comes the crucial ROLE of NGOs and NGO sponsored VOLUNTEERS. There is a need to sit together of all stakeholders and discuss the strategies how to handle a group of Migrants who have already been ravaged, exploited and marginalised? GOs or NGOs, Sarpanches or Volunteers , they must establish Model Quarantine Centres for others to replicate. I am convinced that there are many innovative ways to run a Quarantine Centres – not by Government Orders or by Text Book approach of Disaster Management but by sheer participation, learning and sharing, and Transparency and Accountability and with a touch of love and friendship! It is not a Government Target to achieve, by hook or by crook!

CAN WE ACHIEVE ZERO DISTRESS MIGRATION? MORE QUESTIONS AND LESS ANSWERS

CAN WE ACHIEVE ZERO DISTRESS MIGRATION? MORE QUESTIONS AND LESS ANSWERS

I am very much moved by watching the plight of the Migrant Labourers and also reading about them. Over last two decades, the number of migrant labourers have increased many fold which is undoubtedly a reflection of successes and failures of our Development Planning and Implementation. I have tried to understand the migration issues from the perspective of my own areas and communities. One day, I woke up to a rude shock when one of our old Night School Teachers of 80s Sunamal Majhi of Durkhal Village died in AP as a DADAN labour and luckily his dead body was brought back to Kashipur for cremation. Sometime back , I got a Message from Maharastra that 4 Juveniles were in jail after a juvenile court sentenced them for murder. But the sympathetic judge after hearing their story wanted them to send back to Odisha and perhaps wanted them to set them free after doing some social work. Their crime was the murder of contractor who was employing them was extracting too much of hard work and was not giving them enough food. These tribal boys were not able to withstand the pangs of hunger and stress of overwork. One night they attacked the contractor and killed him. We contacted the Collector and The District Labour Officer along with their parents living in remote villages. A rescue party went all the way and brought them back. They were released after doing some Social Work recommended by the Juvenile Court at Berhampur! There are many such sad stories one will hear in each village – many are missing or are bonded or are incommunicado. Every year, there are newspaper stories how Odia bonded labourers from Tamilnadu were rescued. I am shocked that the number of migrant labourers from our areas is increasing every year though in 1980s, very few had crossed the boundaries of their Panchayats! Is this outmigration an indication of development as youths are going and returning with Mobile Phones, Blue Jeans, cinema style haircut and some cash? It is a debatable issue for sure. Why aren't they seeking sustainable livelihood in their own villages using their own Skills and Resources?

I have tried to track some of the migrant labourers and how they are taken to distant places for varied items of work – Brick kilns, Construction Work, Hotels, Factories and even Agriculture. It is very difficult to know the entire path of migration – how one known agent takes them to Balugaon and from there to a station in South India, from station to another small town and from small town to the work site. At every stage a different person is the escort who does not share the Mobile Number or any address. It is an organised trade and from enticement to coercion are involved. I am aware that many academic studies have been done across the state but hardly there has been any attempt to break the nexus. What the authorities have done is to register them to minimise the exploitation. Some NGOs have tried for Rescue and Rehabilitation. Some are doing work on children of migrant labourers and their education. Some NGOs are trying to establish Trade Unions of the Migrant Labourers. It is alleged that there is silent promotion of Migration by people at many level including senior Government Officials who argue that since State is not able to provide adequate employment and descent wage, what harm is there if the wage earners migrate for better job and wage? All over the world it was understood that Globalisation would lead to mass migration and now De-globalisation is also ensuring the same. The poor are exploited whatever may be the Global Economic Processes.

For many years, I am in search of solutions and alternative approaches after reading a well-known book for Development Practitioners – OUT OF POVERTY AND INTO SOMETHING MORE COMFORTABLE by John Stakehouse where the Author has documented some of the best practices in the entire Third World. This is a book that will influence many policy makers and planners. I am in search of villages which have said no to Distress Migration. I want to hear real-life stories from the NGOs, Government Officials, Media persons if they have come across locations where there is no migration whatsoever. The other day, a modest Agriculture Extension Worker was sharing his unique way of reducing migration successfully in Nuapada District of Odisha in the villages he is associated with. His approach was simple. He encouraged to have Bore-wells through Government Schemes and the small and farmers who used to go for seasonal migration were encouraged to take vegetable production. It seems the household income on average is more than 2 lakhs per year. Then why would these farmers migrate to distant land? It is now a matter of research to know why at one place things have succeeded and how it would be replicated. Imagine, here in this case no NGO/CSO of Nuapada District is involved!

GO-NGO COLLABORATION TO COMBAT COVID-19 PANDEMIC: MY TAKE

GO-NGO COLLABORATION TO COMBAT COVID-19 PANDEMIC: MY TAKE
I am a strong advocate of GO-NGO Collaboration to combat any disaster and minimise the impact. I have several success stories to share. In 90s, there was an epidemic of cholera in Koraput and the progressive Collector had a discussion with me and I have suggested to built up a communication system so that the affected patients are brought immediately to hospitals. For this at the Panchayat Level the Government Functionaries like RI, VLW, Teachers along with NGO Volunteers form a team and if there is any patient affected in the interior area, the communication is immediately reached to the BDO, Tehasildar, the Doctor and Control Room in the Collectorate . Thus, immediate action was taken to send the Ambulance or send the medical team to the spot and patient was given due treatment. Thus, hundreds of lives were saved. Later on such. system was followed in many districts.

During this COVID-19, we must establish such a strong communication system to know the households in distress and to check whether PDS and Cash are reaching the beneficiaries or anyone is starving or needing livelihood support. The GO-NGO collaboration in the country and in the state of Odisha is perhaps not very strong. I have been interacting with the MD, OSDMA, the Chief Advisor to the CM and sharing my views requesting them to strengthen the GO-NGO framework in this terrible time. Things have started to move and in many districts, the GO-NGO Co-ordination meeting has already been held. Some of the Collectors like Nabrangapur, Koraput, Kandhamal, Bolangir, Gajapati etc are very proactive while quite a few Collectors are stonewalling it.

On the initiative of MD, OSDMA, a dialogue with the NGOs is very productive and our NGOs/CSOs are giving very valuable suggestions and feed backs. The NGOs are not begging for Government Assistance but are wanting to help the Government which is and should be the Major Actor. I am sharing my suggestions which I have shared with the MD, OSDMA given below:

COVID 19 response – Notes on MGNREGS And Other Issues
MGNREGS
• Co-ordination meeting between GO-NGOs. Sarpanches-BDOs-NGOs to collectively plan out Block level co-ordination and implementation of MGNREGS work benefitting the most vulnerable communities. Immediate payment needs to be ensured to the people for the emergency cash requirements for the family.
• Gram Sabha and Palli Sabha meetings and approval will not be required for starting of MGNREGS work during the pandemic/emergency.
• Identification of high risk groups and vulnerable individuals involving all stakeholders – Government, NGOs, civil society groups etc..
• Identification of people having job cards and those who do not have job cards involving all stakeholders – Government, NGOs, civil society groups etc. Steps may be taken to issue Job Cards.
• MGNREGS List of village wise works and budget to ensure transparency and accountability. Social audits to continue.
• Village wise listing of works especially during Summer months, provision of drinking water, shade, crèche, soap, sanitizers etc. Womens groups like SHGs can play a lead role to ensure care and support for these initiatives with full payment of wages for their services.
• A group of maximum 5 persons can be engaged in undertaking the individual works and co-ordinated groups can be assigned the responsibility for undertaking larger community development works, including work on village commons and other common property resources. Land development works like bunding, open wells, farm ponds, trenches, afforestation works, waste weir, desiltation of tanks etc can be undertaken. For large items of work, several team of 5 persons may be engaged by ensuring Social Distancing and other COVID-19 Guidelines.
• Persons above 60 years should not be provided work under MGNREGS. They need to be identified and linked with Government social security and development schemes and benefits.
• MGNREGS village leaders can be identified by the Block administration, NGOs and given specific responsibilities for community mobilization and co-ordination of works
• 2 Volunteers can be supported for one Gram Panchayat by NGOs and civil society groups to support the Government in awareness and linking vulnerable people to Government development schemes and social security measures.
• NGOs and civil society groups can support the BDO and the Sarpanch with additional manpower (Volunteers) for uploading of data, information and progress on MGNREGS works at the Block and GP level.
• Priority may be given to Development of Land given under Forest Land Rights Act.
MARKETING OF FARM PRODUCE
The Farmers are in terrible distress as they are not able to sell their produce especially Vegetables. So mechanism should be established so that the produce from a specific area where there is substantial Marketable Surplus, can be transported to cities where there is a market. ORMAS/OLM may be engaged to facilitate this process to protect the interest of the Producers as well as consumers as in the cities vegetables are sold at a very high price due to scarcity situation. Let there be a rapid appraisal of the Areas across the State and effective linkages are to be established. The NGOs/CBOs may be involved for mobilisation.
GO-NGO COLLABORATION AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL
The Government may issue a Guidelines/Instructions to the District Administration to involve the NGOs/CSO in fighting COVID-19. There should be issue of Passes ( in Limited Numbers ) to NGO Staff and Volunteers and Community Communicators immediately to facilitate village visits and interactions with the High Risk and Vulnerable Groups.
COMMUNITY MONITORING OF VARIOUS ENTITLEMENTS
Let there be a Mechanism in place involving the NGOs /CSOs to have a Community Monitoring System to ensure if the entitlements like PDS, Pensions, Cash Compensations, MGNREGS Employment etc. are reaching the poorest of the poor.

FROM DISASTER TO DEVELOPMENT: WE WANT A RESOLUTION AND A VISION

Being under lockdown at Kashipur, I get an opportunity to come alive in many ways as I am able to read and visualise how the entire world is coping up with COVID-19 Pandemic. I read a lot which are posted in the Internet; watch TV; discuss with friends who are also under lockdown; reach out to my colleagues who are trying to do something for the local communities though we are facing many constraints. At times, I try to reach out to friends who are in the Administration and watch their cautious responses. Things are not the same any longer! I also visualise the terrible suffering of masses who are facing shortage of food and no employment. And there are many such people around. I feel totally helpless as our cry is a CRY IN WILDERNESS!

I have always felt that all along the history, all disasters have led to development and progress for the Mankind. I remember in our student days, we have always faced debates on WAR AND PEACE, SCIENCE IS A BOON OR A BANE. Scientists like A N Whitehead ( Author of Classic Science in the Modern world) , Philosophers like Bertrand Russell( The Impact of Science on Society) , Writers like Arthur Koestler ( The Darkness At noon) and Sociologist like Eric Fromm ( Anatomy of Human Destructiveness) have influenced the human mind. There have been N number of Disasters which have contributed to the development of the Society. On the other hand, Society has learnt from each disaster in a significant way and have moved forward after internalising them with knowledge and wisdom.

It is really praiseworthy that our Scientific Community has risen to the occasion and have come forward to find a Vaccine against Coronavirus. Hundreds of Researchers are busy day and night with multiple interventions in different scientific domain and predicting that they would surely succeed in developing a Vaccine soon after due trials. This is the indomitable spirit of Man which we have to recognise.
We have to remain optimistic.

This Lockdown simple cannot imprison our resilient mind and responses as we have to express our creative energy somehow or other and in some way or other. I know many people belonging to the working class or on the edge of survival are thinking day in and day out how to overcome hunger and isolation. I think what is needed is pragmatic planning and execution. What is needed is a vision. I cannot say about urban population as many of the inhabitants have left their village home and hearth for good and it will be very difficult for them to make a U-turn unless the villages offer the same opportunities as the Urban Growth Centres. Looking at all these migrant labourers from Odisha , one wonders what has happened to the mega programmes like Western Odisha Livelihood Projects(ORLEP), Odisha Tribal Empowerment and Livelihood Projects (OTELP) , Odisha Livelihood Mission and so on and so forth. Why the sustainable livelihood has not been ensured for people living under $1 -$2 per day? There are many big NGOs -whether they are big and still beautiful- but their contribution is a matter of debate. It is undoubtedly admitted that things are going wrong at all levels both at policy and practice level.

I remember in 2001, there were Starvation deaths and Late Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister. There was a criticism that Millions of Tons of Food Grains were rotting in the warehouses and yet the people were starving and dying. His aide late Mr. Ashok Saikia called me to know what was the reality and I had requested him that the PM should talk to tribal women to know the ground reality. Those days a special Video Conference was organised at Kashipur and the PM could know the reality from these simple women in a straightforward manner. And lo and behold, the millions of tons food grains were made available for the people and many kinds of food for work programmes were initiated. 

We have to go back to the basics of Gram Swaraj as Mahatma Gandhi has visualised and was demonstrated by the great Gandhian Economist Late Mr. JC Kumarappa. Let us revisit them not for theory but to begin a new Chapter. If one asks me, I can suggest that each Indian village can be converted into an ECO-VILLAGE and each Small Landholder must develop his/her Family Farm for sustainable Food and Livelihood Securities. The village must have enough Water ( Surface and Ground). The village commons must be revived. The Energy Security must be ensured also by having full use of renewable energy. Every village must have a School of its choice. We must have a blue print and engage with the Rural Poor in the most effective way to have zero distress Migration. The Lockdown may be a Law and Order situation from one point of view but it is also an opportunity for dialogue with the masses for DEVELOPMENT which is missing these days! We have to prepare ourselves as there is prediction that there would be much worse attacks in future.