By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Waiting until practically the last moment before the upcoming Assembly elections to leak the RTI findings to the public, the Mawlai People’s Forum (MPF) alleged, on Thursday, that Congress candidate and sitting MLA of Mawlai, Founder S Cajee, misappropriated over Rs 2 crore in funds from the MLA scheme since 2008.
According to the RTI findings from 2008-2013, Cajee misappropriated public funds under several schemes, such as Special Rural Works Programme (SRWP), Central Rural Road Programme (CRRP), Chief Minister Special Rural Development Fund (CMSRDF), Integrated Arts and Cultural Development Programme (IACDP), Intensive Sports and Youth Development Programme (ISYDP), Development of Traditional Folk Music, Discretionary Grant and Additional Fund.
Revealing the RTI findings, MPF general secretary Moris Lyngdoh said that the facts and figures laid out in the documents clearly show that Cajee is a non-performing MLA. “The rights of the people are being taken away and oppressed in these past five years,” he said.
The negligence and delay by the MLA to release the funds under the IACDP-ISYDP-DTEM schemes from 2009-2013 has led to a waste of public money, he alleged. The funds were released, along with the work orders, just three days before the model code of conduct came into effect.
“This implies that the work orders are void with the announcement of the election dates, and the rightful money which should have gone to the youth of Mawlai has gone into someone else’s pockets,” Lyngdoh said.
He alleged that the funds under the MLA scheme of 2012-13, worth Rs 1.245 crore, have been wasted in which Rs 96,79,000 is the MLA’s personal profit and Rs 35,00,000, which has been unaccounted for under the sanctioned Discretionary Grant scheme of Rs 20 lakhs and Additional Fund of Rs 15 lakhs for five years.
The MPF general secretary also alleged that the money, which should go through the Greater Mawlai Coordination Committee on Development or the Mawlai Secretariat set up soon after Cajee won the 2008 election, has been diverted to an unheard-of organization – Mawlai people’s development agency – through one man, D Lyngkot.
“The agency belongs to the MLA himself, which the public of the Mawlai Constituency have never heard of till the exposure of the RTI findings,” Lyngdoh said, adding, “If the MLA is the Chairman of the agency, it may be noted that the scheme has been provided and accepted by the same person, which may be utilized for his profit”.
Elaborating on the schemes that have been misused, Lyngdoh said that there is massive misutilisation of the SRWP scheme of Rs 5 lakh to the office of the Greater Mawlai Coordination Committee on Development (GMCCD) of the Mawlai Secretariat.
According to the RTI, the CRRP scheme 2008-13 of Rs 5 lakh per year for five years was passed through a single person, D Lyngkot, who is the Secretary of MPDA through the Mawlai Secretariat or the GMCCD.
Elaborating on the distribution of CGI sheets, Lyngdoh said, “The sheets have been purchased at Rs 4,000 per bundle from 2,200 bundles through the MPDA worth Rs 88 lakhs that have been distributed, but, as per the Maximum Retail Price, the cost is Rs 2,500 per bundle, adding up to Rs 55 lakhs,” with Rs 33 lakhs in profit going to the MLA.
Meanwhile, the RTI findings also revealed that the claimed development projects being carried out by Cajee in these five years were actually the works done by others. “The water supply schemes claimed by Cajee in his achievement report were actually the initiatives of former MLA, PT Sawkmie,” Lyngdoh said.
In addition, construction of the PWD road along Nongpdeng, known as the Jingkieng-Weiking, was claimed by Cajee as his own project, but was actually sorted out and implemented by Jaiaw MLA Paul Lyngdoh, who was also then PWD Minister.
In relation to the financial assistance to low income groups, the MLA has taken out Rs 20,00,000 and distributed to 400 beneficiaries – Rs 500 per head. However, the names of the beneficiaries were never recorded anywhere, leading to the possibility that the money has gone to many rich people.
“We want people of the constituency, through the RTI findings, to know what our legislator has done for them in the last four years,” Lyngdoh stated, while informing that further action will be taken on the issue after the election.