MP visits adopted village but no public meet

NEEMKA SHAHJAHANPUR(Greater Noida): A week after TOI carried a report about the brewing anger among residents of Neemka — the village adopted by Gautam Budh Nagar MP and Union minister Mahesh Sharma under Sansad Aadarsh Gram Yojna (SAGY) — about the deplorable living conditions in the village, Sharma visited the village in Jewar on Wednesday.

It was his second visit to the village in four months. The last time was on January 4, when he had made the announcement of adopting Neemka as a model village.

With villagers — fed up of “empty promises” — in no mood to relent, the MP decided to avoid addressing a public meeting. Residents said Sharma was accompanied by district officials.

Amit Chaudhary, 26, a Neemka resident, said Sharma only visited the residence of a party worker. “We raised our problems before the district level officers in Sharma’s presence, but their replies were evasive or unacceptable,” said Chaudhary, adding that most villagers expressed concern about the high-tension wire dangling over their houses, even touching the roof of some. “A district administration official said the wire can’t be replaced, and that villagers could shift their residences if they wanted.”

In last week’s report, TOI had highlighted complaints that not a penny had been spent on the village under the scheme, six months after Sharma’s announcement. The main road connecting the village with Yamuna expressway had been medaled up to a point, beyond which was a dirt track.

Sharma later claimed development work has begun in Neemka. “I laid the foundation of 196 toilets to be built in the village. Work to improve power supply in the area has begun. The Airports Authority of India has also allotted Rs 1.22 crore for the village’s development,” Sharma said.