Of check dams and cheats
Circa May 2018, we received a call from a couple of unknown numbers. A few days later, when we spoke to them, they introduced themselves as someone who makes check dams. Now, our farm doesn't really have much flowing water, so there was really no need to build a check dam. But we did call them to the farm ask what they meant and turned out that they dig pits for storing water.
We knew we needed to 'update' our existing water harvesting pits to increase the capacity so that we can hold water for longer through the dry season. As a result, we decided to go ahead. But before doing so, we wanted to be sure that we're not getting swindled and spoke to some folks who had gotten such work done earlier.
When we did our due diligence, we were given a few warnings.
- That there are many frauds nearby.
- That such 'digger folks' will land a group of 20-30 people in your land and pitch tents.
- If something goes against, then they will hound you, coming to your office even.
We tried to protect ourselves from such issues by keeping many things restricted and having checks. For example, not more than 5 people and 2 tents.
A few more observations when we quizzed them further:
- They gave evasive answers as to how they got our number.
- They did not have references from their previous work. Just photographs of completed pits. Who knows who dug those pits? When we asked them why they didn't have references they said that no one asked them to now. And that they had done some work in the southern parts of Tamil Nadu & were looking for work in this region.
- The photos didn't have the owner/manager of the land. Nor did it have any of these people in it.
- They claimed to be currently living in the industrial city across the border south east of Bangalore.
- Their bank account was based in a Tamil Nadu city famous for its Steel manufacturing,
Anyways, after they agreed to all of the conditions we had, the work was started. Before we agreed they way they spoke was "just give us the work and do all payment after it completes". Soon, the entire demeanour started to change. Before the work started, they asked us to write a letter that we had given them a contract. The purpose of the letter was to enable them to quickly get an excavator vehicle. But they end up calling this as an 'agreement' and later use this against you.
The people came, the machine came and work was started. They dug. In between they asked for money, which we refused. Our initial agreement was that payment would be done after the work is completed. But even before this, they volunteered to dig the pit completely at their expense and not ask a single rupee till the work is completed.
Interestingly the person operating the excavator was the only one who was working, & he was sub-contracted by these people. None of the digger folks did any work besides loitering near the site of the work & giving occasional instructions.
They dug 4x the capacity of what we asked for. Imagine someone who does this for a living says to do some simple arithmetic of converting litres to cubic feet, & then based on the depth asked for, calculate the length & breadth.
As a result, the cost was now 4 times our budget. This, despite us stating clearly what we were expecting from them, explaining the capacity and the approximate dimensions of the pit.
Things went downhill here. These people attempted to reject everything we said that the two parties (us and them) had verbally agreed upon and claimed that we had agreed upon something else altogether. This was when a completely new set of people who we had never seen appeared to suppsupport the existing bunch.
We were clear that these folks were no different from those about whom we had received warnings. This was their attempt to swindle us. Our only lapse was not writing down on the 'agreement' the expected capacity & dimensions of the pit.
When we realised what happened, we had to seek the help of a couple of local people(our well wishers) who we knew well and had worked with. They quickly realized what had happened. They also found out instances where the exact same thing had happened to other farms in the surrounding areas.
The 'digger folks' approached the local MLA. We were also asked to come. It later turned out that the MLA and our wellwisher knew each other quite well. And we had another independent conection to the MLA.
On the way to the MLA's residence, we were informed that the 'digger folks' had gone ahead and might be waiting at a certain point which we were bound to pass. They were waiting to ambush us!
We had a reaction that was part scare, part thrill, part 'this is like a movie!' .
The MLA mediated and quoted a rate, which was not acceptable to the 'digger folks', who started walking out. In response, the MLA looked at us and told us to donate the remainder of the payment to a temple, which prompted them to return. The subsequent dialogue between them and the MLA went like this:
"Them: This rate is low
MLA: Quote a reasonable rate.
Them: Whatever you say.
MLA: What I've written is what it is.
Them: This rate is low.
...."
You get the flow.
This started to get on the nerves of our wellwisher and the MLA's son. So our wellwisher suggested :
"Wellwisher: Write down the hourly rate for the excavator machine. Write down the number of hours you've spent each day. To that, we will add ₹50000."
This was also not agreeable. We realized that this option would not work for them, that's why they were rejecting it. But we understood the magnitude of their loss only recently (were they to accept this offer)
Eventually the impasse was broken with the addition of 50 paise per cubic foot. We also agreed to the final number.
The 'digger folks' then asked for the pending payment and the dialogue went thus:
"Wellwisher: You vacate the place and meet me at the block office. I will hand over the payment.
Digger: But we need to do puja today.
MLA: So? Will you do puja for a 50 thousand rupees?"
Eventually, we paid a part of the pending amount and handed over the rest to the wellwisher who in turn handed over the money to the 'digger folks' the next day when they vacated.
Our wellwisher had a final point to nake to the digger folks,that we had given them the contract trusting their expertise in the matter so the onus was on them to understand the client's requirements, quote a reasonable rate, communicate clearly, and execute correctly to what has been agreed.
We exited the MLA's residence, & all the digger folks were still outside waiting. Our wellwisher told us "there's nothing to worry. You start, we will wait here for a few minutes & keep an eye. Once you cross Attibele, it will be completely safe for you".
And about 15 minutes later, he called us saying in a concerned tone "a few of them appear to be attempting to chase you down. Call me when you cross Attibele". 😳 We reached home safe.
They vacated the next day, took their payment & left. We all breathed a sigh of relief.
We will not put up photos, names, or contact numbers out in the public domain. You can reach out to us privately if you wish.
The people came, the machine came and work was started. They dug. In between they asked for money, which we refused. Our initial agreement was that payment would be done after the work is completed. But even before this, they volunteered to dig the pit completely at their expense and not ask a single rupee till the work is completed.
Interestingly the person operating the excavator was the only one who was working, & he was sub-contracted by these people. None of the digger folks did any work besides loitering near the site of the work & giving occasional instructions.
They dug 4x the capacity of what we asked for. Imagine someone who does this for a living says to do some simple arithmetic of converting litres to cubic feet, & then based on the depth asked for, calculate the length & breadth.
As a result, the cost was now 4 times our budget. This, despite us stating clearly what we were expecting from them, explaining the capacity and the approximate dimensions of the pit.
Things went downhill here. These people attempted to reject everything we said that the two parties (us and them) had verbally agreed upon and claimed that we had agreed upon something else altogether. This was when a completely new set of people who we had never seen appeared to suppsupport the existing bunch.
We were clear that these folks were no different from those about whom we had received warnings. This was their attempt to swindle us. Our only lapse was not writing down on the 'agreement' the expected capacity & dimensions of the pit.
When we realised what happened, we had to seek the help of a couple of local people(our well wishers) who we knew well and had worked with. They quickly realized what had happened. They also found out instances where the exact same thing had happened to other farms in the surrounding areas.
The 'digger folks' approached the local MLA. We were also asked to come. It later turned out that the MLA and our wellwisher knew each other quite well. And we had another independent conection to the MLA.
On the way to the MLA's residence, we were informed that the 'digger folks' had gone ahead and might be waiting at a certain point which we were bound to pass. They were waiting to ambush us!
We had a reaction that was part scare, part thrill, part 'this is like a movie!' .
The MLA mediated and quoted a rate, which was not acceptable to the 'digger folks', who started walking out. In response, the MLA looked at us and told us to donate the remainder of the payment to a temple, which prompted them to return. The subsequent dialogue between them and the MLA went like this:
"Them: This rate is low
MLA: Quote a reasonable rate.
Them: Whatever you say.
MLA: What I've written is what it is.
Them: This rate is low.
...."
You get the flow.
This started to get on the nerves of our wellwisher and the MLA's son. So our wellwisher suggested :
"Wellwisher: Write down the hourly rate for the excavator machine. Write down the number of hours you've spent each day. To that, we will add ₹50000."
This was also not agreeable. We realized that this option would not work for them, that's why they were rejecting it. But we understood the magnitude of their loss only recently (were they to accept this offer)
Eventually the impasse was broken with the addition of 50 paise per cubic foot. We also agreed to the final number.
The 'digger folks' then asked for the pending payment and the dialogue went thus:
"Wellwisher: You vacate the place and meet me at the block office. I will hand over the payment.
Digger: But we need to do puja today.
MLA: So? Will you do puja for a 50 thousand rupees?"
Eventually, we paid a part of the pending amount and handed over the rest to the wellwisher who in turn handed over the money to the 'digger folks' the next day when they vacated.
Our wellwisher had a final point to nake to the digger folks,that we had given them the contract trusting their expertise in the matter so the onus was on them to understand the client's requirements, quote a reasonable rate, communicate clearly, and execute correctly to what has been agreed.
We exited the MLA's residence, & all the digger folks were still outside waiting. Our wellwisher told us "there's nothing to worry. You start, we will wait here for a few minutes & keep an eye. Once you cross Attibele, it will be completely safe for you".
And about 15 minutes later, he called us saying in a concerned tone "a few of them appear to be attempting to chase you down. Call me when you cross Attibele". 😳 We reached home safe.
They vacated the next day, took their payment & left. We all breathed a sigh of relief.
We will not put up photos, names, or contact numbers out in the public domain. You can reach out to us privately if you wish.
- Hound someone (call/intercept car road and then get the phone) to get to their farm
- Manage to get the job.
- State that they need a letter to release vehicles,obtain some initial capital etc, and get a letter from you. Later use this letter (which really cannot be considered an agreement or an SoW) as a formal agreement.
- Try to get an advance before they show up. Never show up.
- Show up, start work. Ask for additional money. Vanish without completing the work.
- Get someone else from their group to ask for money saying 'we're part of this team. we need money for some expenses'. Then deny that the person(s) who took the money is part of the team at all.
- Finish the digging part. Ask for payment saying 'Retain 10k or 20k. Pay it when we finish. We cannot complete the work because the mud needs to dry/mud is too dry'. Never complete it. They still got a good bit of money.
- Do more, much more than what you asked for and charge you for it. Their work will run into many lakhs. If you stop work in between and send them off (after paying for it, mind you), come to your place of work and cause a ruckus.
TL;DR: If anyone approaches you saying they will dig "check dams" at your site, either don't give them the job OR check on each and every minute detail, run it by a civil engineer and have an extremely water tight agreement.
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