The dance of death continues on the hilly terrains of Orissa?s tribal districts. This time, the killer is cholera. With the epidemic having already claimed over 300 lives, Kashipur in Rayagada district and Dasamantapur in Koraput district have virtually become ??valleys of death??.

The two blocks in southern Orissa are known for poverty and deaths?due to starvation and malnutrition, gastroenteritis and malaria. As if that was not enough, the police opened fire and killed tribals agitating against displacement due to some projects. Death no longer shocks people in this region. What is, however, shocking is that poverty and deaths continue even after 60 years of Independence and thousands of crores flowing into the area in the name of developmental works.

In the 1980s, late prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, had adopted Kashipur as his pet block for development. A decade later, the then Prime Minister, Narasimha Rao, announced that the undivided backward districts of Kalahandi-Balangir, Koraput (KBK) would be the ?laboratory for development?.

Disturbed by the sad happenings in the KBK region in the 80s and 90s, the Centre launched a programme, Revised Long Term Action Plan (RLTAP), for integrated development of the area. RLTAP envisaged an expenditure of Rs 6,251.08 crore including central and state funds between 1998-99 and 2006-07. During this period, Rs 2,374 crore out of the total central fund of Rs 2,837.94 crore was spent in the region. In addition, crores were spent under programmes like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

The huge expenditure, however, has failed to improve the living standards of people.

Is KBK an example of faulty planning? Or does the blame rest on the implementation authority? Where has all the money gone?

It seems the state government has no control over its officials when it comes to serving the KBK region. The KBK administrator?s post, a post equivalent to chief secretary, is considered a punishment posting. Many senior IAS officers who have been posted as KBK administrator prefer to operate from the posh city of Bhubaneswar, avoiding the official headquarters at Sunabeda in Koraput district. This is despite several incentives. Many doctors posted in the region, too. refuse to report at hospitals. As a result, all planning goes haywire and funds down the drain.

??The recent cholera deaths are further vindication of the fact that developmental programmes under RLTAP and other welfare schemes are a hoax??, says Sahanti, a federation of 65 non-government organisations working in Orissa.