SHILLONG: As there is insufficient proof against anyone, the report of the inquiry into the alleged fund misuse by the sitting West Shillong legislator Paul Lyngdoh, recommended the matter to be probed by a more appropriate forum.
The report of the high level inquiry into the alleged misuse of public fund of Rs 55.80 lakh, said that a particular individual cannot be singled out for the lapse.
The Executive Officer of the Shillong Municipal Board , TSR Marak in his findings said that case of implementation of the schemes under the SUWP appears to have been followed as per the guidelines and beneficiaries appeared to have been directly involved in many of the purchases of the items for distribution.
The findings, however, said that the lapses may have occurred during the course of the entire process of clearing the payment and it appears that the cash memos so submitted were not physically verified for authenticity by all involved in the process of necessary implementation.
“At this juncture of inquiry, the signatories in the payment vouchers cannot also be held directly responsible as payments were being made as per the procedure followed and any malafide intention cannot be proven for lack of concrete evidence,” the report said
According to report, the chairman of the implementation committee has also made it clear in his statement that the cash memos were furnished by the beneficiaries themselves and it has not been their responsibility to verify the place of supply, as long as the materials were received by the beneficiaries.
The findings also recommended that in future, all such documents of value especially those having financial implication should be verified for authenticity before it is officially passed for any release of payment.
Stating that a single individual cannot be singled out for the lapses, the inquiry said that a collective shortcoming is evidently shown.
“Moreover since there is insufficient prove of mal intent by those involved in the implementation of the scheme, the matter may be further investigated by a more appropriate forum,” the report added.
Earlier, one Mike Pakyntein had filed an FIR with the Chief Vigilance Commissioner based on a RTI report alleging that Lyngdoh has deliberately misappropriated public fund in the supply of numerous utility items to his constituents in which the materials supplied and invoices raised thereafter do not match.
