Delhi: The district magistrate of Shivpuri, Anugraha P said that Manoj’s applications had been
rejected under PMAY and SBM, without citing the reason The applications to construct toilet under Swachh Bharat Mission and home under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yogna by the dalit family whose children were killed for defecating in the open were rejected by the sarpanch months ago. The incident took place in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district on Wednesday, September 25. Manoj, father of the minor children, holds a below poverty level card and is eligible for all central government policies meant for a BPL card holder. The family has been getting free rice, wheat, kerosene oil, etc. every month. Just like other BPL card holders, Manoj applied for PMAY and toilet under the SBM, but several months after the application, sarpanch informed that his application has been rejected. Confirming it, district collector of Shivpuri Anugraha P said, “Around 252 toilets have been constructed in the Bhavkhedi panchayat and the districts became ODF (open defecation free) on April 2, 2018, however, Manoj’s family was left out.” However, she didn’t state the reason of rejection. 2 Dalit Children ‘Lynched’ for Open Defecation, Govt Claims Rural India Is ODF While the employment assistant, Shiv Singh Rawat, who was responsible for constructing toilets in the area first said that they don’t use toilets despite having it. When informed that the family has claimed that they haven’t got any toilet, Rawat quickly changed his statement and claimed, “He got the money, but he didn’t construct it.” On being asked to present proof to support his claim, he again changed his statement and said, “The toilet has been approved only to Manoj’s father Kalla, not to him.”
Manoj alleged that his application has been rejected out of jealousy. “We are five brothers and we are untouchables for upper caste men. They don’t want us in the village, neither they hire us for any work, so, they intentionally rejected my application. If we had a toilet, our children would have been alive.”