Dead men, MDC in wage earners’ list
JOWAI: As many as 16 dead persons are among the beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Nongkynrih village under Laskein Block in West Jaintia Hills district.
If this was not enough, the name of the local MDC Newanly Lamare also featured in the muster roll list.
The name of the 16 persons who died over two to three years ago still appeared in the list for muster rolls of the Nongkynrih VEC as per RTI findings received by the Sein Manbei, Nongkynrih. The Sein Manbei accused the local Rangbah Shnong, Yoowanphi Suchiang and the VEC secretary, Limos Saioo for misappropriating funds sanctioned under the MGNREGA scheme which was implemented in the village in 2010.
“I don’t understand how they misused my name. How can I work under the scheme when I have lot of my own work to do as a MDC,” local MDC Newanly Lamare said.
According to the Sein Manbei, 16 persons including (L) Dell Dkhar, (L) Starwingson Suchiang, (L) Donald Nangbah (L) Nicholas Syngkon beside others expired long ago but the muster roll list shows them as active workers with job cards and involved in various projects implemented by the Nongkynrih VEC even as wages were being paid to these dead people. The Sein Manbei also alleged that many ghost names and names of people who have left the village long ago were also found in the muster roll list.
“We have detected that names of at least 29 persons who left the village few years ago, still featured in the muster roll (list) which showed that they are regular workers receiving their dues on time,” the Sein Manbei stated.
The Nongkynrih VEC has received an amount of over Rs 82.20 lakh sanctioned under the MGNREGA for several projects in the village.
Recently, the VEC also received a work commencement order for construction of an internal road in the village with a total sanction of Rs 17.87 lakh which includes Rs 10, 72, 200 as wages and Rs 7, 14,800 as material and skill labour cost. “The project was allotted to a contractor and machines such as earth movers (JCBs) were used instead of making job card holders do the task,” the secretary of Sein Manbei informed.
After learning about the plight of genuine job-card holders, the village secretary and the VEC chairman lodged a complaint with the Deputy Commissioner and the Block Development Officer, Laksein C&RD Block.
“When they came to know about the complaint, the Rangbah Shnong and VEC secretary along with their aides made sure the JCB marks are removed so as to mislead the any official who came to inspect the area,” the Sein Manbei informed.
The Nongkynrih VEC has received many work commencement orders since 2010 for various projects including construction of internal road from Madanbol to Iongkbet (amount sanctioned- Rs 17.87 lakh), construction of wells for drinking water (amount sanctioned- Rs 4.68 lakh), construction of retaining wall (amount sanctioned- Rs 5.82 lakh), construction of culvert and side drain (amount sanctioned- Rs 7.27 lakh), construction of a footpath (amount sanctioned- Rs 10.90 lakh) among others.
The Sein Manbei alleged that no well was constructed in the area and the only work done was the repair of old wells constructed years ago under MLA and MDC schemes. Meanwhile, based on the complaint lodged by the village secretary, the Deputy Commissioner West Jaintia Hills has asked one of his subordinate officers to conduct an inquiry into the matter.