It’s hard not to notice the poverty that reeks out of the villages of Jungle Mahal, one of the most backward regions in West Bengal. Weather-beaten mud huts with thatched roofs and cracking walls are surrounded by large, uncultivated paddy fields. The condition of their inhabitants are no better: bare-chested men clad only in lungis, women draped in blouse-less saris and malnourished children with sunken cheeks share space with goats and other livestock. They are living testimonies of the area’s impoverishment.

Yet, rapacious elements of the ruling Trinamool Congress did not spare them even, extracting cut money, or kickbacks, from these poverty-stricken people in return for government benefits that are their right and due.

From old age pension and cash transfer under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Grameen to widow pension, Trinamool activists have extorted money for every scheme that is targeted at uplifting the weaker sections.

The profiles of those being exploited underline the depths to which Trinamool workers have sunk. Almost all of them are extremely poor, they are vulnerable people such as the aged and widows, and they belong to backward classes or tribes. Here is a sample of some of the victims of cut money.

SHEIKH SAMIRUDDIN, senior citizen

Samiruddin, 65, of Belpahari in Binpur-II block used to be a daily wage labourer until two years back. But when his health started failing because of cardiac complications, he gave up work although he has a daughter and her two sons to feed. His son-in-law has abandoned them and lives in another village.
This is when he applied for the government’s old age pension. Under the scheme, those who are above the age of 60 and fall below the poverty line are eligible for Rs 1,000 a month as an old age pension.
Soilee Mallick, widow and tribal

But unable to get his due, he gave Rs 20,000 as cut money to a local Trinamool activist, Habibur Rahman. Samiruddin said he had to sell three goats to arrange for the bribe. "I cannot work because of my physical condition so my daughter runs the family by selling bread and cakes in a local market. I heard the chief minister has asked her men to refund the money they had taken so I asked Rahman but he refused," Samiruddin said. When contacted, Rahman said the money was taken to carry out the party’s welfare activities in the area.

SOILEE MALLICK, widow and tribal

Soilee, 75, a resident of Dahijuri, is tribal. She lost her husband five years back to diarrhoea. “I could not take him to the district hospital because I could not afford to hire a vehicle,” she said.

She has two sons who work in the nearby fields as daily wage workers. As their earnings are meagre, she applied for widow pension of Rs 1,000 monthly four years back.

Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t get her due. But instead of helping her, local Trinamool workers didn’t spare her even. “Kanchan Sheet, a local Trinamool leader, demanded Rs 3,000 from me, which I could not arrange. I gave him Rs 2,000 two years ago but I have not got any pension so far,” Soilee said.
She alleged that Sheet has stopped visiting her village now. Soilee was unaware of Mamata Banerjee’s instruction to party cadres to return the cut money they had collected.

MITHU RUIDAS, widow and OBC

Mithu, 70, of Kurchimoni village lives alone in her one room, electricity-less hutment. Her husband died five years back and her only son has abandoned her. She ekes out a living collecting wood and saal leaves from the forests, the sale of which fetches her about Rs 80-100 daily. Two year back she applied for funds to build a pucca house under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Grameen, which entitles her to get Rs 2.50 lakh in three instalments. But despite giving a cut money of Rs 15,000 to local Trinamool leader Rathin Mahato two years back to get her name enlisted as a beneficiary under the Awas Yojana, she is yet to get a concrete roof over her head.

‘‘Whenever I ask Rathin he gives me false promises that I will get the grant for the house the next time. How can I build a house with my small earnings?” Mithu asked. When questioned about this, Rathin said: "The money was collected to carry out some welfare work initiated by our party," refusing to spell out the nature of the work.

MIHIR RUIDAS, job seeker and OBC

Fifty-three year-old Mihir is a marginal farmer belonging to Kurchimoni village. He owns two bighas of land in which he cultivates paddy during the monsoon. But the rest of the year the land remains uncultivated owing to lack of irrigation facilities. So he is forced to work as a daily wage earner. “Since I don’t have any job I go to other districts to work as a migrant labourer,” Mihir said. But even getting work under the MGNREGA scheme does not come easy, he has to pay off Trinamool workers to be eligible.

“I had to give Rs 1,500 to get a job under the scheme,” he said. Baren Banerjee, the block development officer of Binpur-II block, said complaints lodged by cut money victims would be heard every Monday from July 1. Necessary action would be initiated accordingly, he added.