Jharkhand villagers still awaiting benefits from Govt. development project

Chatra (Jharkhand), Feb 17 (ANI): The residents of Maoist-affected Chatra district in Jharkhand are still awaiting benefits from the pilot developmental project, which was launched in the region three years ago.

A project was launched in Lavalong village here in 2008, with a block office and a police station built in the area to facilitate development and security.

However, since its inauguration by former Home Minister Shivraj Patil, the project has not churned out any development initiatives.

The villagers here are disappointed as there is no development in their region, and even the administration is not paying attention to their grievances.

"Shivraj Patil, the then-Home Minister had come to Lavalong village. He had inaugurated the pilot project and since then there has been no development-related work at all. People here now do not even know what development is. As you can see, the building behind me 'Prakhand Aanchal' remains standing with the Block Officers hardly visiting here," said Vishwanath Kesari, a local of Lavalong village.

"And if they ever come, as you know it is the era of corruption, poor people just go back with disappointment and nothing is really done," he added.

Meanwhile, Sarhula Grambh, head of the village council in Lavalong village, said that the village council would be able to distribute benefits of the pilot project only if the government does development work through the project.

"There has been no development that I have seen, only destruction. I have not seen anything productive coming out of the infrastructure made. If the government provides benefits, then only can the village body pass it on to the people and look after it," said Grambh.

A similar pilot project was launched at another Maoist-affected area in Jharkhand's Palamu District, but the state of the project is similar to the one in Chatra. (ANI)