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“Our village is divided into two factions, one side is all for the BJP the other is all about the Congress,” said Rameshbhai, a grocer and one of the 4,800 residents living in Maghrol village.
Maghrol is a relatively big village located around 30 kms away from Anand District Headquarters. On 17 May 2016, Rajya Sabha MP and the Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani adopted the village under the ambitious Sansad Aadarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
When The Quint visited Maghrol, local villagers presented divided opinions on the actual work done on the ground. Some openly accused Irani of a lax attitude and blatant corruption, while others were grateful for the roads built and the water connections at their homes. Irani has visited Maghrol thrice so far.
Arvindbhai Rathod’s wife is the deputy sarpanch at the village and he said, “A few issues have been tackled and a few haven’t seen any actionable approach. Corruption was prevalent in the construction of the community halls. The rubber pitching project of the lake was also a corruption platform.”
Meanwhile others such as Nandubhai claims that work has been done. He said, “RCC roads have been made and water supply is in place now. Having said that, it is not nearly up to the quantity we actually need. But, there is a water tank now and a dairy so, everything is much more organised now. We really can’t blame Smriti Irani as has provided us with toilets but people don’t want to use them. Instead, they take money for them. She provided the amenity to us, so, we are the ones who should avail them. I think the people are to blame for this.”
According to a high-ranking official in the Anand Collectorate around Rs 69 lakh was spent on one of the two crematoriums built in the village. The funds were allocated to Shri Sharda Majoor Kamdar Sahkari Mandli (SSMKSM) who promised to build an electric crematorium where wood will not be used. Yet on the ground there is no electric crematorium in the village.
Besides this, Rs 55 lakh was spent on the beautification of the pond at the entrance of the village which too has not seen any work done on it. The Quint had previously tried to reach out to Smriti Irani about the allegations levelled against her, but no response was forthcoming.
Yet ins spite of the scale of corruption alleged against Irani and the Mandili, the villagers of Maghrol are still undecided.
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