DWMA Assistant Project Officer, MDO visit Pedapeta in Anakapalli district to inquire about job cards

Assistant Project Officer investigates villagers' protest over lack of work allocation in Pedapeta village, promising job card revival.

Assistant Project Officer of the District Water Management Agency (DWMA) P. Purnima Devi visited Pedapeta village of MK Patnam panchayat of Rolugunta mandal in the district on Friday to inquire into the demand by the villagers and their protest on January 30 after seeing the report in The Hindu.

According to the local people, the Assistant PO and Mandal Development Officer P. Chinna Rao visited the village and asked those who had shown their ‘job cards’ and staged a protest to show them the same. Pangi Rajulamma said that she was given a job card but not work in her village for the past two years due to which her card had lapsed.

The tribal people of Pedapeta have to trek for six kilometres through difficult terrain to reach MK Patnam panchayat for work. The tribals told the officials that 25 families in the village had pattas for ‘jirayati’ lands and 26 families have ‘ROFR’ pattas. Though there opportunities for all types of works in their village, they were not being given work in the village. They said that though MGNREGA came into existence 18 years ago, no work was allotted to the village, so far.

They said that 30 of the 60 job cards given in the village, have lapsed due to non-allocation of work.

Ms. Purnima Devi assured them that the job cards would be revived and work would be given to them in the village, according to CPI(M) district secretariat member D. Govinda Rao.