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Cases of nepotism in Cyclone Amphan relief run into thousands in poll-bound Bengal
The ‘cut-money’ scandal helped the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bag 18 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, say experts.
Nepotism and malpractice by the Trinamool Congress’ (TMC’s) panchayat leaders involved in the distribution of compensation for people whose homes were damaged by Cyclone Amphan on May 20 have turned into the most raging issue in poll-bound West Bengal.
While genuine claims have been ignored, the compensation of Rs 20,000 in most cases went to people who suffered no loss. It is also alleged that multiple members of the same families got Rs 20,000 each.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has asked district administrations to review the payments and take back the money. Bank accounts are also being frozen.
“The chief minister is personally looking into this. It is a serious issue and action is being taken. Poor people cannot be deprived,” Javed Ahmed Khan, the state disaster management minister, said while speaking to HT on Saturday.
In a reminder of the so-called ‘cut-money’ or illegal commission that TMC leaders charged from beneficiaries of rural housing schemes in the past, the issue of corruption for Amphan relief led to two killings on Saturday.
The TMC and Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist), a small Left party, lost one local leader each in the Moipith-Boikunthapur panchayat area of South 24 Parganas district, one of the worst affected by the cyclone.
In at least five other districts in south Bengal, agitations and clashes over alleged nepotism has been continuing since June though no death was reported.
“Being a coastal area, Moipith was ravaged by the cyclone. But our supporters did not get any compensation. On Thursday, we lodged a complaint at the local police station against the panchayat pradhan. TMC workers attacked our supporters within 48 hours,” said Tarun Naskar, former SUCI legislator from the local Joynagar assembly seat and a professor of engineering at Jadavpur University.
While officials in the Cyclone Amphan-affected districts said the number of complaints runs into thousands, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has alleged that around Rs 300 crore has been misappropriated.
Relief package
Within 48 hours of the cyclone hitting the state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the affected areas and announced an initial grant of Rs 1,000 crore for relief and rehabilitation.
Later, the Bengal government told the Centre that 28.6 lakh houses were damaged and the cost of this damage stood at Rs 28,560 crore. The quantum of total damage stood at Rs 1.02 lakh crore, the state said.
The chief minister announced an initial relief fund of Rs 6,250 crore. On June 2, she tweeted that the government has transferred funds to nearly five lakh people for repairing homes.
In addition, the government has also promised wages for 100 days of work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme for the affected people.
Political observers and opposition leaders feel that the huge relief package opened the Pandora’s box as the TMC controls more than 80% panchayat bodies and had won around 34% seats uncontested in the 2018 polls that were rocked by violence.
Case studies
The allegations have surfaced in North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, East Midnapore, Howrah and some parts of West Midnapore. Surprisingly, complaints have been received even in Nadia, a district located 232km away from East Midnapore and 170km from South 24 Parganas, the worst-hit areas.
“We are receiving a huge number of complaints. I cannot give you a figure off-hand as thousands of people applied for compensation. There are cases where vested interests worked. We are not taking any chances. The claims are being reviewed on a daily basis and banks accounts being frozen,” Vibhu Goel, Nadia’s district magistrate, said while speaking to HT.
In East Midnapore district, hundreds of people in Mahishadal, Patashpur, Contai and Nandigram assembly constituencies have staged agitation saying TMC leaders deprived them.
“We have issued a show-cause notice to some of our men and 25 people have returned the money so far. No party can take such prompt action,” said Tilak Chakraborty, vice-president of the TMC-controlled Mahishadal panchayat samiti.
In Howrah district, allegations have been raised in Uluberia, Sankrail, Panchla and Jagatballavpur Assembly segments.
“The complaints received include four or five members from same families making claims and even same persons receiving multiple payments,” said Kartik Chandra Roy, community block development officer of Uluberia-1.
In North 24 Parganas, where the TMC has faced agitation in assembly constituencies such as Amdanga, Deganga and Sandeshkhali, the party’s district president and state food and supplies minister Jyotipriyo Mallick accused eight BJP-run panchayats of the same nepotism.
He even released the list of beneficiaries, mentioning details of the payments made.
One such gram panchayat is Keniara 2 in Bagdah assembly segment.
“If any irregularity has taken place then it will be rectified,” said Anamika Biswas, the panchayat pradhan who, Mullick alleged, got the compensation three times.
“If the government has proof then it should take legal action. This corruption exposes the government’s failure. The accused TMC leaders are writing declarations, saying they made mistakes so that bureaucrats can remain safe,” said BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha.
The effect
Suvashis Maitra, a political observer and columnist, feels that such a large scale corruption points at a problem with the character of people in rural Bengal.
“Otherwise why will poor people in villages lie? This trend started much before the TMC came to power. The ruling party is trying to enforce rectification. The CPI(M) tried it too but failed. This relief scam is like some sort of democratisation of the combination of political power and corruption,” said Maitra.
Udayan Bandopadhyay, Kolkata-based political science professor, believes that the issue will directly affect the outcome of the 2021 assembly polls in at least three districts.
“The cut money issue helped BJP bag 18 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 and also affected the panchayat polls in 2018,” he said.
