Dispute-free villages await prize money

It seems that the Pune rural police have forgotten to distribute the Rs19.35 crore prize money to 788 dispute-free villages in the district. It has been six months since these awards were to be distributed. 

Moreover, the minister of state for home, Satej Patil, confirmed to DNA that the he had instructed the superintendent of police to distribute the prize money. Insiders in the Pune rural police cited that the real reason for the delay was the election code of the conduct. And some of them want a suitable politician to preside over the function. 

On November 2, 2011, superintendent of police, Pune rural, SS Solunke told DNA, “I have recently taken charge of the district. I have already given instructions to our officer to distribute the money by next week.’ But Solunke apparently did not stick to his promise. Repeated efforts to contact Solunke went futile as he did not respond to DNA’s calls. 

DNA had reported how the Mahatma Gandhi dispute-free village scheme, the dream project of state home minister RR Patil, was dying a slow death in Pune district, thanks to the neglect of rural police. The police have appointed only two cops to implement the scheme across the entire district. 

In 2010, as many as 788 out of 1,134 villages in Pune district were declared dispute-free. Pleased with its achievement, the state government declared the prize money, which was supposed to be distributed equally among the villages.