Assam govt bear Bhupen Hazarika’s Memorial cost
Guwahati: Assam government would bear all costs related to the construction of Dr Bhupen Hazarika’s Memorial at Jalukbari here, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said here on Friday.
Gogoi said that he had earlier given a proposal to meet a part of the costs through public support with the aim of getting people totally involved in the project.
“The idea was conceived to involve the people in the project. As Dr Bhupen Hazarika was a singer of the masses, we desired the memorial to be a people’s institution and not a wholly Government one,” Gogoi said in a statement.
Some organisations, however, have opposed the “idea of raising portion of funds from the public for the memorial, so we decided that all costs of the memorial would be borne by the state government,” he added. (PTI)
BJP alleges misuse of central fund in Arunachal
Itanagar: BJP on Friday alleged misuse of Rs 3,500 crore central fund by the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh in the last fiscal and said the state government should take corrective measures against corruption.
BJP state chief Tai Tagak in a statement here alleged misuse of central fund to the tune of Rs 3,500 crore in the last fiscal and said a huge chunk of the fund was siphoned off without producing any utilisation certificates.
“The dictatorial attitude of the chief minister should be changed. We need transparent and accountable governance,” Tagak said.
The central government would never deny funds for developmental activities but the state government is required to take corrective measures against corruption, he said. (PTI)
Tibetan leaders meet Arunachal minister
Itanagar: The Core Group for Tibetan Cause led by its National Convener Dr NK Trikha has met Arunachal Pradesh UD, Tourism and Art and Culture Minister Pema Khandu at Tawang.
Dr Trikha met Pema Friday and told that the group is a worldwide group having its base in 39 countries across the globe, an official communiqué informed. The team consisting of nine members of the group from India hailing from different parts of the country are in Tawang for generating awareness among the locals about the international issue of Tibet.
The group expressed its vehement opposition to the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the subsequent threat it has posed to the country and repeated claims of Arunachal Pradesh as part of its territory by the Chinese.
“We in Arunachal Pradesh had traditional trade relations with Tibetans and not with the Chinese. We never had any border with China but only with Tibet. We consider the humiliation of 1962 as something that can’t be repeated in this age,” Khandu said while condemning the repeated Chinese claim on Arunachal Pradesh. (PTI)
Discrepancies by PWD in project implementation : RTI forum
Itanagar: A RTI forum in Arunachal Pradesh has alleged several discrepancies in ‘quality and quantity’ of works carried out by the public works department (PWD) while implementing various infrastructural projects in the state.
The Arunachal Pradesh RTI Forum for State Development (APRTIFSD) in a statement today alleged that RTI documents in connection to the official inquiry for measurement of terms as per estimates prepared by the department reveal that “unknown government procedure and practice” were used.
It claimed that the site for the grand inter-state bus terminal (ISBT) which is currently under construction was moved from Chimpu to Lekhi village at Nirjuli near here, without the Centre’s approval.
It also said that the truck terminal which was to be constructed at Naharlagun was moved to Lekhi village “in a rejected area without soil testing” and that “again the department did not obtain central approval for change of site”.
RTI documents stated that the project comes under the purview of the Centre’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) and the estimated cost of construction is Rs 19.8 crore. (PTI)