Government of Bihar receives a public grievance

Chief Secretary, Public Grievances Cell, Government of Bihar

Thank You!
Your application has successfully forwarded to Public Grievance Cell for further processing. It is being forwarded to the concern department for necessary action within four weeks from today.
Your Grievance Number is: CSPGC/BIH/00176. Note it down for future reference.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To,
The Chief Secretary,
Public Grievances Cell,
Government of Bihar,
Cabinet Secretariate Department, Old Secretariat,
Patna - 8000015
Tele/Fax No. : +91 612-2215409



Subject: Village Chakauti in Sitamarhi District - Dark Corner of India

Dear Sir,

While we are all busy building India and its image, there are a few dark corners long neglected. I have been visiting my home Village Chakauti in Bokhra Block (earlier in Nanpur Block) in Sitamarhi district,Bihar, where the villagers had deposited their initial money for electic connection years back to the Electric Supply Division Sitamarhi in 2001-2002. However, no action was ever taken on the ground to electrify the village.


2. The plight of the village, lack of proper education, agricultural backwardness, complete lack of infrastructure, not to talk of any industrialisation, unemployment among its youth and the sheer helplessness of all the villagers is directly attributed to the non electrification of the Village. While all the villages around Chakauti are electrified, the Village Chakauti is the lone one in the area groping in the dark, facing huge number of problems due to non electrification.

3. Earlier, on July 4, 2007, after my visit to the village I had written letters to Secretary(Power), Government of India and received the following reply from Ministry of Power:

" GOI has launched Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana for electrification of un-electrfied villages, intensive electrification of electrified villages and to provide free connections to BPL families. A project under the scheme has been sanctioned for the district Sitamarhi also. Chakauti village was not included under the project by the state for electrification as it was declared as electrifed earlier However, during detailed survey during implementation of the sanctioned project, it was found that the village has got de-electrified.

A supplementary project has been prepared to cover the village.The RGGVY was for X Plan only. The proposal for continuation of the Scheme for XI Plan is under consideration of the Govt. The supplementary project will be sanctioned after approval of the scheme. "

4. I find that two years have gone by since then. No sign of any action is seen in the village despite anouncements from Hon'ble Prime Minister of India such as

"My vision of rural India is of a modern agrarian, industrial and services economy co-existing side by side, where people can live in well equipped villages---.Rural incomes have to be increased. Rural infrastructure has to be improved. Rural education and health needs have to be met. Employment opportunities have to be created in Rural India."and

from Dy. Chairman of Planning Commission : "One of the critical constraints which holds back our growth is the lack of infrastructure"

5. The villagers of Chakauti have high hopes of action from the Government of Bihar. Could you kindly look into it?


Best Regards.

Yours sincerely,
(A Villager)
July 17, 2009

Rural Housing

Govt. plans to construct 120 lakh houses in the next five years under the Indira Awas Yojana.

Rural Roads

Govt. plans to build an additional 45,000 km of rural roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana in the next five years.

Rural Employment

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is being expanded to include small and marginal farmers. Under the scheme, in addition to creation of assets such as reservoirs and dams, Govt. will take up projects to develop water resources, agriculture, environment and forests, fisheries, dairy farming and carpentry. Govt. has made a budget provision of Rs 39,080 crore for National Rural Employment Project.

Rural India to get Broadband

Rural India is all set to take a giant infotech leap forward.

The government has drawn out a grand scheme to put nearly 5 lakh villages across the country on the high-speed wireless broadband map in the next five years. The initial phase would cover about two lakh villages in 5,000 blocks. In January, the government placed an order with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) under the USO fund scheme for providing 8.5 lakh rural broadband connections. "Under this scheme BSNL gets a subsidy of up to 40 per cent on computers," said a BSNL official, who did not wish to be quoted. This is besides the subsidy it gets on installing and maintaining the broadband connections. The government would continue this subsidy for wireless broadband.

Villages in blocks and talukas that already have necessary infrastructure such as tower and power would be identified for rolling out the network. There are two lakh such villages. Bids would be invited from telecom service providers, and the successful ones would be given financial subsidy.

The subsidy will be provided from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) that is raised through a 5 per cent levy imposed on telecom operators' revenues. It is meant for supporting telecom services in rural areas. At present, USOF has a corpus of Rs 18,192 crore.

The department of telecommunications (DoT) has decided that primarily WiMAX technology would be used for wireless broadband connections. WiMAX enables broadband access at a download speed of up to 75 Mbps through wireless.

DoT has already awarded a contract to BSNL under USO fund scheme to install 7,800 towers in rural areas for providing broadband connections through WiMAX. "My priority is to provide world class telecom services to the masses across the country at competitive and affordable prices. We will accomplish universal coverage of both voice and broadband connectivity," said union communications minister A Raja. But what about the cost? The government plans to subsidise even computer hardware for both individual subscribers as well as rural information technology kiosks.

In recent months, the government has held discussions with telecom operators, Internet service providers, and others to formalise modalities of tender procedures, technology selection, and benchmark settings, the official said . "The kiosks shall have at least one Internet browsing enabled work station, a printer and a scanner," an official, who did not wish to be identified, said.
Among other things, the broadband network would connect all panchayats or elected council of village elders, across the country. This is aimed at dovetailing panchayats with the larger national e-governance initiative.

Out of about 2.5 lakh panchayats across the country, only 30,000 have been provided with broadband connectivity, so far. For villages without power, the official said, the government favours financial subsidy to telecom providers for setting up solar, wind or diesel hybrid solutions to run broadband networks.

Rural electrification to curb population growth

Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad pleaded for rapid electrification of villages in India to accelerate curb the population growth of the country by ensuring access to television.

"Electricity in our villages can help control population growth. Electricity will lead to television in houses, which will lead to population control. When there is no light, people get engaged in the process of population growth," he said while addressing a function on World Population Day. "Don't think that I am saying this in a lighter vein. I am serious. TV will have a great impact. It's a great medium to tackle the problem," he added. "When light will reach (villages), 80 per cent of population growth can be reduced through TV," he said, adding that the current United Progressive Alliance (UPA) central government is working to ensure greater rural electrification.

The minister said that population growth needs to be controlled as it will have positive impact on "all Indians". "It is the duty of all MPs, ministries and of all individuals to help in curbing the population growth," he said adding that India contributes to 17 per cent of the global population but the land area of our country is just 2.5 per cent of the total land available in the world. India with over a billion people is second only to China in terms of sheer number of people and experts believe if the current trend of growth continues, then the country may surpass China by 2030.

Budget - a Clear Shift for Rural Development

http://www.rural.nic.in/gramin_bharat.htm

Sun light during night

रात का सूरज
Capture the sun and save it for the night with a solar light! For decoration or lighting purpose, or both, solar lights come in a variety of models suitable to your specific needs.

Uses: While solar lights come in many styles, all perform the same essential function. A solar light shines in the night without fussy electrical cords crossing around. Take a look at some popular types of solar lights for home usage:

Landscape: Illuminate paths and gardens with a solar light array.

Motion: Safety and security are foremost. This solar light deters prowlers, but also lights the way for you and your guests.

Deck: The party's not over when the sun goes down. These solar lights have stored keep the festivities going deep into the night.

Floodlights: Give your house a gentle wash of solar light to accent its architectural features.

Spotlights: This outdoor solar light put the focus on your home or landscaping. Illuminate a beautiful statue, or keep a dark corner of the yard safely lit.

Hassle Free Energy: Without wires crowding the outdoor sockets, a solar light set keeps the lawn clean and safe for kids. The convenience begins when you set up your solar light. Simply dust off the collecting panels on your solar lights and they will shine through many nights to come. What's more, solar lights have no affect on electricity bills. For safety, landscaping, or both, outdoor solar lights bring the warmth and clarity of the day into the beauty of the night. Consider the numerous models and decide which solar light is right for you. What is an LED?

Solar lights are equipped with LED's.

An LED, or Light Emitting Diode, contains a chemical compound that gives off light when an electric current passes through it. They've been around for many years, but only recently has the technology advanced so that they can be made bright enough to actually use as an independent light source.

How much light does an LED produce?

LEDs put out a tremendous amount of light for their size and energy draw. They create almost no heat and use very little electricity. In general, an LED uses about 1/10th the power of an incandescent bulb and they are up to 90% more efficient than both fluorescent and neon bulbs of similar wattage. Best of all, an LED will last thousands of hours; some have been tested to over 50,000 hours (vs. a standard flashlight bulb that will only last a few hundred hours).

A common mistake is to compare wattage between LED units and their incandescent and fluorescent cousins - wattage is a function of power consumption, not brightness.

What are the advantages of Solar Lighting?

An advantage of buying solar lights is that LED bulbs will never burn out during the lifetime of the product. Low voltage incandescent and fluorescent systems will need bulb replacements often and add cost and inconvenience to the product.

1-2 LEDs(equivalent to a night light) ::::::::::::::::::::: 3-5 LEDs(equivalent to a desk light)
6-8 LEDs(equivalent to a porch light) :::::::::::::::::::: 9 LEDs and Up(equivalent to a flash light)

Budget - a Clear Shift for Rural Development

To fuel rural growth, Govt. is going to spend more than Rs 1,000,000 crore in the coming year, which includes a 37 per cent jump or an additional $65 billion. Most of this is going to go into the government’s schemes like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and Bharat Nirman, which in effect puts more money in the hands of rural consumers.

Government is trying to create new markets in Rural India. We have to look at ways by which we can evolve new distribution strategies, offer value-added products and drive consumption in rural India.

Domestic demand and consumption has been the key driver for economic growth in India. Till now, most of the domestic consumption demand was based out of the big cities with the top eight cities accounting for almost 40 per cent of total demand. Household savings in India is among the highest in the world and statistics suggest the poor are forced to save a much higher share of their income than the rich.

With this budget and its huge spending on rural India, the Govt. has set ambitious targets of halving poverty by 2014, adding 12 million jobs a year and bringing 50 per cent women under self-help groups. If this holds true and if 70 per cent of India which resides in towns and villages have more money in their pockets and spend more on consuming value-added products, it has the potential to bring about a change in the economy.

So, whether it is on solar energy, lights, or the consumer goods, increased consumption in rural India will create new jobs required for providing these value-added products and services. After many years, the philosophy for driving growth is bottom-up rather than spending on ‘trickle-down effect.’ We are focusing on moving with the majority rather than the affluent minority. Thus, this budget is a clear shift in terms of its ambitious vision for driving economic growth.

Rural Roads

Govt announces Rs 12,000-cr for rural roads

The government announced budgetary support of Rs 12,000-cr for developing rural roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in the General Budget 2009-10 stepping up the allocation for the programme by 59 per cent over Budget Estimate 2008-09 to Rs 12,000 cr. PMGSY. It aims at providing connectivity to all villages with a population of 1,000 with all weather roads by 2009. 1,46,185 km of roads has been proposed to be constructed in 2009. Govt. proposes to make full farm-to-market connectivity by upgrading 1,94,132 km of the existing 'Associated Through Routes', with an investment of Rs 48,000 cr. In addition, an allocation of Rs 6,500 crore has been made as loan for PMGSY through the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund window of NABARD.

Women's Empowerment- Rashtriya Mahila Kosh

Corpus of Rashriya Mahila Kosh increased to Rs 500 cr

The women's Self Help Groups movement is bringing about a profound transformation in rural areas and today over 22 lakh such groups are linked with banks. Making employment generation as the stepping stone towards women's empowerment, the Government increased the 'Rashtriya Mahila Kosh' i.e the corpus of the women's Self Help Groups to Rs 500 crore from the existing Rs 100 crore, in the budget for the year 2009-2010.

The Government proposes to enroll at least 50 per cent of all rural women in the country as members of SHGs over the next five years and link these SHGs to various banks.

Contact details:

The Executive Director, Rashtriya Mahila Kosh , 1, Abul Fazal Road, Bengali Market,
New Delhi-110 001 Telephone Number:- 011-23354619/23354620/23354628
Fax:- 011-23354621 E-mail: ed_rmk@nic.in" Website : www.rmk.nic.in

Loaning Operations of Rashtriya Mahila Kosh

The Rashtriya Mahila Kosh is engaged in providing loans to eligible organisations for on lending to poor women. The lending operation ecompasses following stages:-

1. Formulation of schemes and their approval by Governing Board,

2. Spreading of awareness about RMK’s policies and schemes amongst NGOs through IEC Activities in a planned manner.

3. Selection of the scheme by potential NGO partner

4. Forwarding of loan application in prescribed form alongwith all requisite, information and document.

5. The NGOs/Borrowing organisations (BO) submit the loan proposal in the prescribed format designed by RMK with other documents as per enclosures.

6. Once it received by RMK, the dispatch clerk enters it in Letter Reciving register, stamp & number it. It is put up to Executive Director who marks it to concerned Deputy Director who deals with the concerned State. Then Dy. Director marks it to the concerned dealing assistant.

7. The dealing assistant enters it in Loan Receipt/Sanction/Rejection Register.

8. Scrutiny of loan applications - During the scrutiny of the loan application, the RMK satisfies itself about the following matters:-
a. Whether the organization fulfills eligibility criteria as prescribed,

b. Whether organization fulfills eligibility norms as prescribed,

c. Whether all the requisite documents have been received,

d. Whether all the necessary information/clarification as required for appropriate decision have been received,

e. If there is anything wanting in regard to points as brought out above, the NGO is requested to furnish the same.

9. However, on receipt of all documents, information and clarifications decsion is taken either to decline the proposal or to refer it for pre-sanction study by the RMK officials or nominated institutional monitor.

10.The pre-sanction monitoring of the loan proposal can either be conducted by a RMK official or nominated institutinoal monitor (at present Agricultural Finance Corp. Ltd.). The monitor visits the organisation and check all the books and registers such as Cash Book, General Ledger, Vouchers, SHG Profiles, SHG Savings Register, SHG Loan Register of the borrowing organisation. He also visits the Self-help Groups promoted by the organisation, interact with SHG members, verify all the records maintained at SHG level, assess the demand of loan of SHGs. After Pre-Sanction study has been received in which the monitor has recommended the amount of loan to be sanctioned, an appraisal note is prepared for placing the same before in-house/loan committee with the recommendation to sanction the amount of loan by the concerned Deputy Director considered deem fit taking into account earlier track record, if any, of the applicant and also any other information in his/her possession about its operations or otherwise.

11. The In-house/loan committee after considering all the relevant facts of the case as contained in the appraisal note sanctions or defers or declines it. The concerned applicant is conveyed the decision of the in-house/loan committee.

12. On sanction of the loan by the in-house/loan committee RMK conveys information about loan sanctioned vide sanction letter which contains terms & conditions of the sanction, details of the documents to be executed in Delhi by the authorized representative of the applicant and a guarantor to be duly witnessed by two persons and other undertakings/ resolutions to be submitted by it before release of first installment.

13.After receipt of necessary documents like disbursement certificate, utilization certificate, list of borrowers part I & II, quarterly progress reports, demand pronote, pre-receipt, application for 2nd & subsequent drawals & appendix thereto, the post-sanction monitoring study is conduted by the monitor to verify the end use of the funds, adherence to the terms & conditions of the sanction letter and quality of utilization of funds. The monitor visits the organisation, verify the related documents, entries in book registers, bank accounts, disbursement registers and adherence to the terms & conditions of the sanction letter and quality of utilisation of funds etc. The monitor also visits the groups benefited out of the Ist installment of loan, verify the assets created out of RMK loan. Depending upon the recommendations of the monitor, RMK either releases the IInd installment of loan or recalls the loan.

Abundant Sunshine

Solar lanterns will light up rural households

The average number of sunny days in India ranges from 250 to 300 days a year, with a solar energy equivalent to or greater than the country’s total energy consumption. Energy efficiency is critical to India's large and growing population. Solar lanterns, which make the most of the country’s natural and abundant sunshine, could be a practical and clean energy alternative to kerosene lamps in village communities. Solar energy has the potential to improve the living conditions of poor rural households in India as well as contribute to the country’s future energy security.

By using solar lanterns, there will be substantial saving compared to the kerosene and electricity costs. Expenditure on kerosene and electricity will drop significantly after solar lanterns are introduced. Each household is likely to make savings ranging from Rs 7,200 to Rs 12,000 approx annually. The solar lanterns will particularly benefit school-aged children and women. With five to six hours of light supplied daily by the solar lanterns, study hours will increase which will have a positive influence on the children’s performance at school. Women will also be able to perform their routine household work both indoors and outdoors during power outages.

The use of solar energy will contribute to India’s future energy security, particularly in rural areas where the technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity offers a decentralised alternative to uncertain electricity supplies.

In India, approximately 70 per cent of rural areas lack electricity. Even out of electrified villages, 70 percent of the villages connected to power grids do not receive power because the power companies redirect electricity to major towns and cities. Over 60 per cent of rural households use kerosene lamps for lighting. Kerosene lamps are not only expensive, they are also inefficient, potentially dangerous and a major source of greenhouse gases.

If implemented efficiently, renewable energy projects could not only improve the quality of life for India’s rural poor but also enhance sustainable use of the environment.

Empowerment of Rural Women

Be a Member of SEWA (SELF EMPLOYED WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION)

Organising in Rural Areas

The basis of obtaining higher wages is the capacity and power to bargain. However, the workers in the villages of Bihar have neither this capacity nor the power, because they are weak and vulnerable due to absolute lack of employment. In a situation where there is an unending supply of labour and no employment, the workers are unable to get any wage , not to talk of obtaining higher wages.

If workers are to empower themselves and increase their bargaining power, the only viable strategy is one of increasing local employment opportunities. This is the strategy followed by SEWA for its rural members.

Rural organising has focused on:

Increasing employment opportunities for women and thus increasing women's bargaining power.

Developing women's assets.

Capacity-building and leadership development of rural women.

Providing food & social security

Becoming self-reliant both in economic terms and in terms of running their own economic organisations.

Ecoregeneration through employment for rural women.

Collaborating with government's rural development programmes.

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SELF EMPLOYED WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION
Elaben Bhatt Founder of SEWA, First General Secretary
Bhanuben Danabhai Solanki President
Jyotiben Mecwan General Secretary
Namrataben Bali Treasurer

Address: SEWA Reception Centre , pp. Victoria Garden , Bhadra,
Ahmedabad - 380 001. Phone : 91-79-25506444, 25506477, 25506441
Fax : 91-79-25506446Email :mail@sewa.org

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shri Sanjay Kumar
SEWA Bharat 7/5, 1st Floor,South Patel Nagar, NEW DELHI .Tel: 011- 25841369 / 25840937 mail@sewabharat.org


Ms. Madhuri Sinha
General Secretary, SEWA Bhagalpur, Press Building, Bhagalpur- 812002,
Tel: RES – 0641-2422404 sewabgp@sancharnet.in


Ms. Nutan Sinha
General Secretary, SEWA- Munger,Shram Bharti Khadigram, P.O. Khadigram, Munger- Bihar, Tel: 06344-2222206 sewa_munger@sancharnet.in

Dark Corner of India -Chakauti‏

Reminder

Sent: 02 July 2009 20:39PM

To:

Secretary(Power)
Govt. of India,
Shram Shakti Bhavan
New Delhi - 1

Subject: Village Chakauti in Sitamarhi District - Dark Corner of India

Dear Sir,

While we are all busy building India and its image, there are a few dark corners long neglected. I have been visiting my home Village Chakauti in Bokhra Block (earlier in Nanpur Block) in Sitamarhi district,Bihar, where the villagers had deposited their initial money for electic connection years back to the Electric Supply Division Sitamarhi in 2001-2002. However, no action was ever taken on the ground to electrify the village.


2. The plight of the village, lack of proper education, agricultural backwardness, complete lack of infrastructure, not to talk of any industrialisation, unemployment among its youth and the sheer helplessness of all the villagers is directly attributed to the non electrification of the Village. While all the villages around Chakauti are electrified, the Village Chakauti is the lone one in the area groping in the dark, facing huge number of problems due to non electrification.

3. Earlier, on July 4, 2007, after my visit to the village I had written a similar letter to former Secretary(Power) and I received the following reply from Ministry of Power, Government of India:

" GOI has launched Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana for electrification of un-electrfied villages, intensive electrification of electrified villages and to provide free connections to BPL families. A project under the scheme has been sanctioned for the district Sitamarhi also. Chakauti village was not included under the project by the state for electrification as it was declared as electrifed earlier. However, during detailed survey during implementation of the sanctioned project, it was found that the village has got de-electrified. A supplementary project has been prepared to cover the village.

The RGGVY was for X Plan only. The proposal for continuation of the Scheme for XI Plan is under consideration of the Govt. The supplementary project will be sanctioned after approval of the scheme. "


4. I find that two years have gone by since then. No sign of any action is seen in the village despite visionary anouncements from Hon'ble Prime Minister of India such as

"My vision of rural India is of a modern agrarian, industrial and services economy co-existing side by side, where people can live in well equipped villages-----------.Rural incomes have to be increased. Rural infrastructure has to be improved. Rural education and health needs have to be met. Employment opportunities have to be created in Rural India."

and from Dy. Chairman of Planning Commission :

"One of the critical constraints which holds back our growth is the lack of infrastructure"

5. The villagers of Chakauti have high hopes of action from the Government. Could you kindly look into it?

Best Regards.

Yours sincerely,

( A Villager )

July 3,2009