Latehar, Jharkhand:
A 14-year-old girl in Jharkhand died after a well, which was being constructed under the government's flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), collapsed.
A labourer present at the scene said that the well in the Paleja village had been dug out to a depth of approximately 22-25 feet when the mud surrounding it collapsed, throwing Palpati Kumari inside the well. She died while a few other workers were injured.
Palpati was working in her spare time as an NREGA worker. Hence, her death has raised several questions the scheme does not allow the employment of minors. NREGA is the UPA's flagship scheme for the poor that aims at enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of wage-employment in a financial year to a rural household.
Assuring that an investigation will be conducted in the matter, Manika MLA Harekrishna Singh said, "We will investigate if these people were card holders or not, and if they were then we will give them all the provisions under the law.Those found guilty will be punished accordingly."
The girl's death has also brought into focus the construction of wells under the NREGA in Jharkhand. The scheme was launched on a mass scale two years ago, but work was abandoned with the arrival of monsoons, with construction of many wells left incomplete.
Anxious to avoid a repeat of this tragedy, some district authorities in Jharkhand are now taking constructive steps to enable people to complete their wells on time this year. In some districts, however, force is being used instead of constructive action. For instance, it was reported at a public hearing in Ranchi on 15 February 2012 that well owners in Khunti District are receiving stern "notices" warning them that legal action will be taken against them unless they resume the construction of their wells immediately. This could prove dangerous since premature work in wells that have not fully dried up could lead the well to collapse, triggering a repeat of what happened to Paleja.