By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Several scams, but no concrete punishment to those involved, was a feature of the year 2012.
Topping the list is the irregularities in the appointment of assistant teachers in the Government Lower Primary School which was exposed by the CBI in its report.
Appointment of assistant teachers
The CBI, which probed the alleged irregularities in the appointment of Assistant teachers in government Lower Primary schools in 2009-2010, named former education minister Ampareen Lyngdoh for her role in the alleged manipulation of score sheets of the candidates to fulfill ‘recommendations’ of several politicians including the Assembly Speaker Charles Pyngrope, Forest and Environment Minister Prestone Tynsong and other MLAs.
However, Lyngdoh during a news conference clarified that she had no role in the scam.
The CBI report, which was submitted to Gauhati High Court, said that JD Sangma, the then Director, Directorate of Elementary and Mass Education (DEME) (now known as School Education and Literacy), was examined and in the course of his examination, Sangma stated that “under the instruction of the then Education Minister, he had to change the score sheet as prepared by the five boards duly applying white fluid on the original marks as awarded by the members of the board”.
Despite the revelation of the CBI report, the Government went on to appeal before the Gauhati High Court to allow the constitution of a High Level Inquiry Committee.
Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma also refused to drop the then Education Minister as demanded by the NGOs following the CBI revelation.
Interestingly, when the findings of the CBI report appeared in the media for the first time, Chief Minister said that he would ask the Chief Secretary to find out the source which led to the leakage of the CBI report.
The CSWO and Freedom Project filed an FIR against the Urban Affairs Minister for her alleged involvement in the tampering of the score sheet. The police, till date, is yet to act on the FIR filed by the two NGOs.
Land deals
Another major scam which erupted during this year is the controversial land deal related to the Mawpalai plantations in Ri-Bhoi district.
Umroi legislator Stanly Wis Rymbai, who had claimed of having the power attorney of the villagers in initiating this deal, was asked to reimburse Rs 8 crore out of the total Rs 10 crore which was earlier paid by the Forest and Environment department for the land deal.
The department wanted to cancel the deal after the officials found out the alleged nexus of certain politicians and civil servants in initiating the deal.
Act violation by cement companies
Another major scam which made it to the headlines in the State was the gross violation of Forest Conservation Act by cements companies as exposed by the RTI findings.
The RTI findings on the cement plants in Jaintia Hills had exposed the connivance of the various Government departments including the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) and the traditional bodies which allowed the cements plants to carry out mining inside the forest areas in gross violation of the Forest Conservation Act.
Meanwhile, the joint inspection committee, constituted by the State Government headed by Chief Conservator of Forest, Social Forestry CP Marak and the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Regional office, Union Ministry of Environment and Forest, BN Jha also observed that several cement companies are occupying forest areas in Jaintia Hills.
The joint inspection committee was constituted after the High Level Committee headed by the Principal Secretary (Mining and Geology) JP Prakash had submitted the report to the Government on November 25 last year.
The JP Prakash report had also said some cement companies had procured land beyond the required limit even encroaching the forest land violating the Forest (Conservation) Act 1980 and Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
Interestingly, the Government is yet to take action against the erring cement factories.
PDS scam
A major PDS scam also came to light during the initial part of 2012. The police exposed the PDS racket after they seized huge quantities of rice and sugar allegedly meant for distribution under the PDS from the godown of two city-based businessmen – Nits Agarwal and Nand Kishore Agarwal – at Iew Mawlong.
Following the Magisterial inquiry on the diversion of PDS rice, the East Khasi Hills District Administration cancelled the license of one L Surong, the wholesaler of PDS items in Laitumkhrah who was involved in the diversion of the PDS rice into the black market.
Substandard
food for children
Further, the Social Welfare Department had also come under the scanner for allegedly supplying substandard, unhealthy food to children under the Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) of the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) through Anganwadi centres at the cost of Rs 24 crore for the last two years in blatant violation of Supreme Court orders.
The independent tests have confirmed that the food products being supplied under the SNP are substandard.
Mid-day meal scam
Another serious irregularity was unearthed over the implementation of the mid-day meal scheme in the Unitarian Lower Primary School in Upper Klew village in Ri-Bhoi district.
Students of the school were not getting their mid-day meal even though official records claimed that mid-day meals were being provided to the students on a regular basis.