Who moved my pond? MP villagers ask, flag corruption; file theft complaint

REWA: Who moved my pond? That's what villagers of Purva Maniram panchayat in MP's Rewa district are asking.In a unique protest against what they claimed was "corruption by the village panchayat" in constructing a pond in the village under the Centre's Amrit Sarovar scheme, a section of residents of the Purva Maniram walked into the Chakghat police station recently, with a complaint saying a "newly-constructed village pond has been "stolen." The villagers claimed that the pond was shown on record as constructed while it did not exist on ground.Amrit Sarovar ponds are funded primarily through MGNREGS, with allocations coming from both Centre and the state, devolved as grants to gram panchayats.For villagers of Purva Maniram, however, the controversy is less about technicalities and more about a missing pond they say was "swallowed up" in corruption. The pond was supposed to have been built in 2022-23 at a cost of Rs 25 lakh. Police, however, declined to register a case. "A group of villagers came to the police station about 10 days ago, complaining that a pond built under the Amrit Sarovar scheme in their village was stolen. We told them that such a case cannot be registered since a pond cannot be stolen. It is not a matter police could handle. We asked them to complain to the state revenue department," said Ghanshyam Mishra, then station in-charge of Chakghat. Mishra has since been transferred.Following the uproar, the administration ordered an inquiry. Rewa district panchayat CEO Mehtab Singh Gurjar told TOI: "The pond has not been stolen. We got it investigated through the janpad (block) panchayat CEO and also through the nayab tehsildar. A portion of the ‘bund' of the pond has been built on private land owned by the sarpanch. A case has been registered against the sarpanch under relevant sections of the Panchayati Raj Act. Appropriate action, including recovery, will be done accordingly."Purva Maniram village sarpanch, Dheeresh Tiwari refuted charges of corruption. "A pond under Amrit Sarovar was built in 2022–23 in the village. The size approved was 23m x 23m. But, in order to strengthen it, it was felt that it should be built bigger. I got it constructed with 40m x 40m dimension, but used govt funds only for the 23m x 23m construction. The remaining portion has been built at my personal expense. That portion is being claimed as private land," Tiwari said.On allegations of the pond being stolen, he claimed heavy rains damaged the structure. "A large portion of it was damaged in the heavy rainfall this year. River water flowed into the pond and inundated it. I have informed the administration. The people levelling allegations include those who have political differences and have lost elections. Even after the damage, it still held water, though in less quantity," he said, adding that he has received a notice under Section 89 of the Panchayati Raj Act, which pertains to recovery from elected representatives.