Panchayat rejects grant for toilet, man turns labourer to

A man was forced to work as bonded-labourer for a money lender after he failed to repay a loan he took to build a toilet in his house here as his plea for funds to construct it was turned down by the panchayat.
Nikhil (22), son of Rajkumar, took the loan of Rs 15,000 from the money lender in Punjab's Rajpura, where he works in a rice mill, and got the toilet built in his house with the money, Chief Development Officer Arun Kumar said.
Rajkumar claimed that on failing to repay the loan, the money lender is making Nikhil work in his Dhaba. Nikhil wants to return home but the money lender is not allowing him to go.

They had earlier requested the panchayat for funds to construct the toilet but it was turned down, he said.
Kumar said they are getting the matter probed and if Rajkumar is found poor, then financial help would be provided to him by the government.
On the recommendation of village panchayat, state government gives Rs 12,000 to build toilet, the CDO added.