TURA: The Garo Hills Progressive Alliance, which is running the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC), has said it cannot provide information about the central funds and project implementation as demanded by opposition MDCs and some social organisations because the matter is sub-judice.
The Congress MDCs in the Council have filed a case in the High Court of Meghalaya.
The NPP-GNC-BJP alliance has further stated that it is ready to reply if anyone files an RTI query.
On Wednesday, the NPP-led alliance held a press conference in Tura to present its side of the story following allegations of embezzlement.
Deputy CEM and spokesperson of the alliance, Augustine Marak, dismissed the corruption allegations and said the EC is prepared to give a reply to any RTI query.
“We cannot give any documents and replies to the allegations since the matter is already in the High Court after the opposition MDCs filed a case. The matter is sub-judice now,” said Marak.
The development comes on the eve of the two-day protest by the Garo Students’ Union (GSU) and the Federation of A’chik Freedom (FAF) that begins on Thursday on the premises of the district council.
With this, it seems unlikely that the three-day winter session of the council, starting from Monday, will witness much of a spark as anticipated as the ruling alliance is expected to use the court case to avoid any debate.
Both the opposition Congress and some of the student bodies have accused the NPP-led executive committee headed by CEM Denang T. Sangma of allegedly allowing over Rs 100 crore development funds to be withdrawn by individual MDCs from the ruling side.
The package is part of the Rs 1,000 crore released for distribution to all the autonomous district councils in the North East as a onetime special assistance fund.
Taking a dig at the opposition, the deputy CEM said they could be provided with documents and replies only if they withdrew their own case or wait for the High Court verdict.
“On one hand they file a court case and on the other they demand answers knowing well that the matter is sub-judice and cannot be discussed,” said Marak.
