SHILLONG: Smelling a scam, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly has summoned officials of the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary department after being unsatisfied with replies submitted by the department on its failure to realize unspent money to the tune of Rs.1.81 crore which was released to a Chennai-based consortium and its local partner Rishan Rapsang as mobilization fund for construction of the Rs.7.65-crore mechanized abattoir in Jowai.
The committee on December 5 last, through Assembly Secretary H Mylliemngap, had directed the AH&V department to take immediate steps to realize the unspent money which was released to the firm for construction of the abattoir.
In the letter addressed to AH&V Director JS Jyrwa, the Assembly Secretary had asked the department to take immediate steps to realize the money lying unutilized with the consortium for the past two-and-a-half years.
“We have decided to summon officials of the department since we are not satisfied with the reply which was submitted to the committee,” PAC member Ronnie V Lyngdoh told newsmen after their meeting here on Tuesday.
He informed that the PAC wanted greater clarity on certain points stated in the reply by the department officials.
“The committee will take a final call on the matter after summoning the officials in their next meeting. We will not hesitate to initiate criminal proceedings against the department if we establish that undue favour has been given to the firm,” Lyngdoh said.
The PAC member said that during the site inspection on November 11, they had unearthed several anomalies as far as execution of the Rs 7.65-crore project was concerned.
“The Committee was surprised to see that the project was yet to take off even after the work was allotted to the firm in September 2012,” Lyngdoh said.
He stated that the firm had spent a total amount of Rs 4 lakh for a wooden shed and another Rs 4.5 lakh for installation of a transformer at the site in the two years since the project was allotted out of the total Rs.1.81 crore which was released as mobilization fund.
“This is totally unacceptable. We will ensure that there is no misuse of public money,” Lyngdoh said.
While referring to the mobilization fund amounting to Rs 1.81 crore which was released to the Chennai-based consortium, official sources said that the fund was released as per the norms laid down by NABARD, the funding agency of the project.
“As per the norms laid down by NABARD, we have to release 30 per cent out of the total amount of the project as mobilization fund. Therefore, Rs 1.81 crore was released to the consortium,” the sources said adding that a similar percentage of the total project cost had been released as mobilization fund for the Shillong abattoir project at Mawlai Mawiong.
