Daughter of the Soil
- Category: December
/ 0 Daughter of the Soil
Agatha Sangma waxes eloquence
-Swati Deb
Some people cannot grow beyond their surname. Agatha Sangma is one such person. Daughter of former Lok Sabha Speaker and veteran Meghalaya politician, she became the youngest minister in the Manmohan Singh government in 2009, but political watchers attribute her elevation as Minister of State more to her father’s politicking. Just on the eve of government formation in May 2009, Sangma, who had once raised the bogey of Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin, had reportedly tendered an apology to the Congress president. Shortly, Agatha was questioned about the same and also asked at a press conference in NCP’s Delhi office, whether she has a role to play in cementing the divisions between the two elders. She gave smart but obviously ambiguous - and thus perhaps politically correct - answers. But considerable time has passed since then. She has already started getting a feel of the politics and also picking up one or two useful tips. Since 2009, she has served under her three senior cabinet ministers for Rural Development – C P Joshi and Vilasrao Deshmukh (both former CMs in Rajasthan and Maharashtra respectively), besides of course the present incumbent, Jairam Ramesh. Recently, under Ramesh, she has been allocated the assignment to oversee the launch of National Rural Livelihood Mission, once billed as the top flagship scheme for UPA-II and also a game changer. Earlier this year, Sonia Gandhi herself had launched the scheme with uch fanfare in Rajasthan.
But the NRLM matters are moving very slow, admit sources in the Rural Development ministry at Krishi Bhavan in New Delhi. But that does not mean – Agatha, daughter of a highprofile politician like P A Sangma, is virtually jobless. “I am keeping myself busy with special focus on north east,” she says sporting the mild but infectious smile.
But that’s a neglected region? Well, having worked as a Union Minister of State in what is often jokingly and acidly termed as “Aurangzeb’s Delhi” (the pun is of the author), Agatha too admits that the perception about neglecting northeast by the establishment in New Delhi is still prevalent.
However, a smart political player that she is emerging as, Agatha punctuates her remarks with clear measured quote: “though the system has improved much in the recent past.” “Some of these perceptions are due to approach of the governance system in New Delhi also,” she confessed the other day adding during Vilasrao Deshmukh’s stint as the rural development minister at a conference in Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, an assurance was given toconsider some relaxation in the guidelines for PMGSY schemes in June 2011 for the region. But nothing has been done yet.
“Actually, the minister (Deshmukh) had assured to look into the common demand of the northeast rural development ministers that unlike the PMGSY guidelines, some roads should be allowed to be undertaken in far-flung habitations of states like Arunachal Pradesh with population less than 250.”
But nothing has happened as yet as the minister was changed. The Minister of State is however, categorical that she has no complaint over it against her present ‘boss’, the senior cabinet colleague, Jairam Ramesh.
Ms Sangma says northeast states also suffer often due to incessant rainfall. Essentially the construction period in the region is hardly for two-three months but many a times sanctions for the schemes from the centre reach late and hence the projects are often washed away. “Funds for new projects are invariably held up for want of completion certificates of earlier projects which get delayed due to long rainy seasons,” she points out rightly. She also has other stories to share. Yes, it is on the ageold issue of corruption, a serious malady in the region too like in the rest of India.
Broadly the issue of corruption affects or hampers implementation of rural development schemes due to the complicity of the lower level babus. “The corruption at the lower level bureaucracy hinders RD schemes more. This is a broad national phenomenon and also in the northeastern states,” she says. But what has left her irked particularly is the confrontational approach adopted by Mukul Sangma-ministry of Congress party in her backyard. “During my father’s stint as MP, in Tura district of Meghalaya there was complaint about corruption against 3 BDOs, these officials were transferred out for sometime but now again they are back as the state government desires so. We are back to square one,” Agatha laments.
Importantly, however, she has a more important complaint and that’s primarily on policy matters. She rues over the fact that the Vigilance and Monitoring Committee of Mahatma Gandhi - NREGA at the district levels where in local elected MPs are the chairpersons hardly serve any purpose even as broadly the review mechanism of various rural development schemes is not adequate. “I have to admit that the Vigilance and Monitoring Committees are toothless and often unable to do what they are supposed to. I am saying this from first hand experience as I am a chairperson of such a committee for my Tura district”.
Agatha Sangma was first elected to the 14th Lok Sabha in a bye-election in May 2008, after her father P.A. Sangma resigned from the seat to join state politics. Impressed by her brief speech in 2008, the then Speaker Somnath Chatterjee had remarked, “I am sure your father will be proud of you”.
