Fund or farce? Aid or easy money? Who is benefiting ?
From amongst the many issues boggling the minds of young people, the gross mishandling of funds earmarked for the educated unemployed, such as CM Corpus Fund(CMCF) and Prime Minister Rozgar Yojna (PMRY), take primal importance. This assessment has been reached with such vehemence during the consultations with young people in many district, during the YES (Youth Employment Summit) Campaign, that it was felt necessary to give a public airing. At the same time we also need to know the Government’s version of this perceived debacle.
The voices of the young people are an urgent plea for us to start acting to arrest this unhealthy practice which is eating into the morale of our young people. It has come down to the question of eroding the very values of honesty, dignity and integrity. It is a simple appeal to the human conscience. Agreed that some young people have utilized the government grants and aid for their sustenance and gainful self-employment , unfortunately they are too isolated, they have to be termed as negligible for which this whole issue has been bracketed as a failure. Whether that is acceptable is for you to decide.
Most young people feel that it is due to the practice of favoritism and nepotism by politicians that money lands in the wrong hands, who have no serious desire to pursue their projects , but looking for easy money to enjoy extravagant lifestyles. If the given situation were true, who is to be blamed – the Government or the young people?
To be fair to the professed good intentions of the government, government officials (esp. Deputy Commissioners who chair the Inaugural Functions and also interact with the audience) have been equally vocal about the irresponsibility of young people. Instead of utilizing the assistance given by the government to create employment for themselves, they squander the money and bring disrepute to the Government . The counter argument of young people is that, this is bound to happen when the beneficiaries are not the deserving candidates. If the genuine candidates are the beneficiaries, they say that there will be a lot of success stories and model entrepreneurs.
The argument is strong on both sides and deserve a fair verdict from you. However the general agreement is that these malpractices must be checked in order to inspire any faith in the system and also confidence in our young people too. Sadly, this is no more about restoring our image and good faith, but this shameful practice have become an impediment to many who now have to deal with banks who look at all Nagas with distrust due to poor recovery form beneficiaries who fail to repay the bank loan components of their Government assisted funding.
With such serious implications, can we simply blame and accuse each other rather than do something to rectify the system? Many young people feel that the selection process itself is flawed, and more scrutiny on the candidates and feasibility of the projects have been proposed. Some youth have recommended a monitoring body to oversee the practical existence and functioning of project implementation by releasing the money in installment, so that the second installment is released only after the project is in place. Many have suggested that NGOs and Student bodies get involved in the selection and monitoring process.
An interesting suggestion was to communitize these funds, so that from the local community level itself close monitoring and accountability is enforced. Perhaps to convey a sense of futility and total lack of faith was a young man’s take on this issue. He asserted that we press the government to withhold the CMCF for a few years and during that period utilize the collective earmarked fund for development and infrastructure such as road constructions which is a crying need and will benefit all in the State. Has it really reached this nadir to invite such a proposition?
The discussion on this topic provoked maximum participation in the form of debates, choral agreement, a lot of anecdotes and story sharing leading to outrage and light moments too. Unbelievable stories were shared about some beneficiaries of the CMCF applying for the second third time after squandering the money. There were also stories of how some beneficiaries vanished from town after money was released and after a few days seen in the traffic driving a brand new car. Someone related about a case of a young man who got Rs8 Lacs CMCF and after a few months got through the NPSC – both ‘Fortune’ enjoyed by him.
Can these stories be all true, or exaggerated, given the terms and conditions supposed to be binding the beneficiaries. So are they hearsays, or instances of good money misused? Whose fault – our very own young people or the implementing authority? Aren’t we all curious to know the truth? Does anyone feel unqualified criticism leveled against them?
Today, with the coming of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, we have a powerful tool and a space to address these issues. To leave no room for doubt and controversy, whether you are a government official, a beneficiary or simply a concerned lay person you can file an RTI application to unravel the farce and bring hope to our society.
Kezungulo-U Krome
YouthNet for YES Campaign
