Sikar is the 24th district of Rajasthan wherein ‘Jawaabdehi Yatra’ has witnessed an abysmal picture of stone mMining when the team was invited to visit Shuklawas village in Kotputli. The entire village is severely affected by illegal stone mining and its deadly impact where debris from blasts can be seen on houses, fields and even schools. With heavy dust in fields where vegetables are grown and air that perpetually feels dusty, children and adults are breathing sand and dust day in and day out, leading to serious respiratory and other health problems.
Interestingly, for the past 21 days, villagers have been sitting on an indefinite protest demanding ‘legal stone mining’ to relieve their families of critical health issues.
Mr. Radhe Shyam, a local leader, says, “Every possible rule with regard to mines is flouted. Repeated complaints to SDM, BDO, and Collector, among others, have yielded no response. In total, 378 people have died because of stone-loaded trucks travelling back and forth every hour. Despite these facts and figures, no action has been taken to provide any kind of assistance to the villagers.”
Many people have fallen prey to stone mining. Mamraj Dhobi, a resident of Taskola village, is among those who died last year after being diagnosed with 1.5 kg of sand in his stomach. Like this, thousands of stories have been associated with various other villages of ‘Kotputli’.
Jawabdehi Yatra salutes their spirit and joins in solidarity with them.
Soochana Evam Rozgaar Adhikar Abhiyan is the force behind the ongoing 100-day ‘Paardarsita Jawaabdehi Yatra’ (Transparency & Accountability Journey). The campaign, which started on December 1, 2015, is on a journey to cover 100 blocks in all the 33 districts of Rajasthan, organising three-day activities in every district.
The campaign journey is accompanied by ‘RTI on Wheels”, a mobile RTI clinic from the Gujarat RTI Campaign, and regularly conducts seminars, clinics and workshops on the Right to Information (RTI), Right to Education (RTE) and Right to Hearing Act (RTH). This is followed by camps on RTI application, grievance submission and District Shiksha Sammelans in which ward panches and Panchayati Raj representatives participate. Together, they hold a one-day review and convention on the use of RTI, RTE and RTH in the state.
It helps document people’s efforts and suggestions addressed to government schools and the larger education system, thereby making the government accountable for its decisions and advocating a sense of transparency in the system. Besides, RTI, RTE and RTH, the Transparency and Accountability Yatra also touches upon several social issues under the government programmes of MGNREGA or for other benefits such as ration pension, health and social security.