Click to play videoLalitpur(Uttar Pradesh): Ramabai is a landless peasant in the remote village of Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh.
With an extended family of 11 to feed, she was looking forward to the National Rural Employment Gaurantee Scheme.
But when she heard that those registered under the scheme could be packed off to Iran or Iraq for work, she changed her mind.
"I will not go to Iran, I cannot leave my family behind. We are poor, but we will not go to Iran for work," says Ramabai.
Among other things, Ramabai was told that the agency for rural employment is backed by Bush government.
So far, over 5,000 people have withdrawn their applications. The district administration blame the local stone-quarry owners for spreading these rumours.
It claims the contractors fear that they might lose cheap labour force to the rural job scheme.
"Contractors might have spread this rumour. We have taken action against them," says ADM, Lalitpur, MS Kamal.
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is one of the most ambitious schemes of the union government.
It is being started in as many as 22 districts of Uttar Pradesh. But the Minister for Rural Development is not even aware of villagers withdrawing job applications.
"So far, I have not received any such complaint from any of the villages," says minister for rural development, UP government, Rajpal Tyagi.
While the villagers still continue to live in fear, the administration is trying hard to prove that talks of being sent to Iran or Iraq are nothing but a rumour.
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