Panchayat president misusing power: MGNREGS workers

MADURAI: Villagers from Alamarathupatti panchayat in Dindigul district have alleged that the panchayat administration was misusing its powers and forcing MGNRGS workers to work on a private land. They sought action against the panchayat secretary.
They alleged that panchayat president Rajalakshmi Sandhanakrishnan and panchayat's AIADMK secretary Sandhanakrishnan, who is the former's husband, were misusing their powers.Sandhanakrishnan had leased two acres of land from a temple in the village eight years back to set up a brick kiln. He had also promised to create an orchard on the land after digging a borewell, the villagers said.
They alleged that Sandhanakrishnan used MGNREGS workers to clean the land recently. When the villagers questioned him about his actions, he told them that he had obtained permission from the block development officer to use the workers. They said that the MGNREGS beneficiaries did not lodge complaint, fearing action against them, including denial of jobs.
Sekar, one of the beneficiaries, said panchayat secretary Dhandapani would often ask them to work on land belonging to the president. "For the past two days, we are working on the land. Even otherwise we are asked to do odd jobs and the salary is paid from the 100 day scheme,'' he said.
Another beneficiary, Ramaraj, said that they were threatened with dire consequences if they tried to complain about this misappropriation.
When TOI contacted project officer of the District Rural Development Agency, P Thilagavathy, he said that the cleaning had been done to plant trees under the National Tree planting scheme.