Magsaysay winner spurns NREGS award
By IANSThursday, February 3, 2011
LUCKNOW - After once turning down the prize money of the prestigious Magsaysay Award, IIT professor-turned-activist Sandeep Pandey has now spurned a union government sponsored NREGS Achievement Award citing the government’s “failure to curb rampant financial bungling” in a village.
Pandey, who announced his decision at the award giving ceremony in New Delhi Wednesday, told reporters here Thursday: “I turned down the award because of the failure of the government to curb the rampant financial bungling going on in a village of Hardoi district to which I had sought to draw the attention of all concerned authorities.”
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme Achievement Award carries a citation with a cash reward of Rs.44,000.
“When the central as well as state governments were simply turning a deaf ear to my repeated complaints about the blatant pilferage of funds by none other than the husband of the local panchayat head, how can I accept an award certifying my achievement in ensuring proper implementation of NREGS in my own area of operation,” he asked.
In a letter handed over by him to union Rural Development Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Pandey stated that he was returning the award since no action was taken on his complaint backed by sufficient evidence of transfer of a Rs.620,000 funds by the local panchayat head’s husband to his personal account.
“Panchayat head Urmila’s husband Ghanshyam even went to the extent of getting local villagers beaten up for raising their voice against the irregularity,” Pandey pointed out.
A rebel of sorts, Sandeep Pandey had first shot into the spotlight in 2002 when he created history by returning the award money of $50,000 given to him as a part of the Ramon Magsaysay award.
A mechanical engineer from India’s leading Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, where he also taught as a professor for sometime after completing his doctorate from Berkeley University, Pandey has undertaken education and development at the grassroots level under the banner of National Alliance of People’s Movements in Lalpur village of Hardoi district, about 80 km from here.
