SHILLONG: The CSWO has sought the intervention of Meghalaya Governor KK Paul seeking action against retired forest official TTC Marak for his alleged role in a corruption case related to construction of the Syndai Park after the State Government failed to take action in the case.
In a memorandum submitted to the Governor on Monday, CSWO president Agnes Kharshiing said the case of “blatant corruption and reward in the Forest Department pertains to grave financial irregularities committed by the just retired Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, TTC Marak.”
The copies of the memorandum were also sent o the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, the Secretary to the Govt of India, Ministry of Environment and Forest, the Chief Secretary, and the Director General of Police.
According to Kharshiing, it was most probable that Marak used his connections and influence to thwart any enquiry or stalled the enquiries.
“In rare cases where any enquiries have progressed, files are made to disappear or are held up by some police officials, frustrating any attempt to bring the many alleged scamsters to book,” Kharshiing said.
According to CSWO, political and social pressure is exerted on the administrative machinery and police, not to proceed with the matter.
Kharshiing said that an investigation by the DSP CID has established that “Marak, the then PCCF (T) has committed offence of breach of trust, being in the manner entrusted with property or with any dominion of property in his capacity as a public servant and misused the fund and had not properly implemented the project for which it was sanctioned”.
According to the CAG report of March 31, 2009, in order to promote tourism under the Border Areas Development Programme (BADP), State Level Screening Committee accorded (March 2000) approval for construction a Park at Syndai Village in Jaintia Hills at an estimated cost of Rs.59.42 lakh.
Accordingly, the Government sanctioned and released Rs 30.61 lakh (March 2001, November 2001, and March 2002) on the basis of an estimate containing 12 items of work prepared by the Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF), Social Forestry & Environment (SF&E). The work (initially entrusted to soil and water conservation department in March 2000) was entrusted (July 2002) to the Forest and Environment Department for execution. The Director Border Areas Development Department (BADD) released the entire sanctioned amount of Rs 30.61 lakh to the CCF (April 2003: Rs 10.61 Lakh: August 2004: Rs 10 lakh: March 2005: Rs 10 lakh).
“Instead of taking action against the officer, the Government of Meghalaya, in a most bizarre example of cover up and “reward” for misappropriation of public money, created a special post of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests in defiance of the directions of Union Ministry of Environment & Forests, which is the cadre controlling authority of Indian Forest Service and promoted T.T.C.Marak illegally to it in the year 2010″, Kharshiing alleged.
According to CSWO president, the matter would not have come to light had an organization named War Jaintia Student Union not pursued it relentlessly against all odds after lodging a complaint in Muktapur police post under Dawki police station.
The matter was later heard by the Gauhati High Court in a PIL, (PIL NO 26 of 2010) under whose direction the State CID had to investigate the case and submit the report to the High Court.
“The enquiry submitted to the Gauhati High Court in 2011 confirmed all the above facts and found Marak clearly guilty of criminal breach of trust and dishonestly misappropriating of Govt money,” Kharshiing alleged.
She added that the State Government, however, has not accorded sanction for prosecution of the officer till date even after the expiry of more than two and half years.
“To everybody’s utter surprise the officer was given the charge of the Head of the Forest Dept of the State on April 30, 2013 and subsequently declared as Head of the Forest Dept in January 2014,” the CSWO alleged.
According to the memorandum, there cannot be any graver travesty of justice anywhere in the world. “The natural thing for the police department would have been, in pursuance of the repeated directions of the Supreme Court in such cases, to have deemed the prosecution permission, as granted after the expiry of four months and launched the prosecution”, she said.
The CSWO leader said that in Meghalaya where much corruption prevails, the prosecution and the executive try to stall corruption cases thereby leaving the public at large victims of a malfunctioning Government.
The NGO also urged the Governor to call for records and take steps to punish the guilty officials.
“This shall also set precedent to the many pending criminal cases of corruption and abuse of power, involving higher officials in the State and we are also concerned that this retired official may be given a post retirement post which will be a further reward for helping the corrupt,” the CSWO alleged.
