TURA, June 14: The Non-Gazetted Employees’ Association (NGEA) of the GHADC has submitted a memorandum to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a CBI probe into the alleged misappropriation of the Rs 100.71 crore besides other funds released to the Council by the Ministry of Finance for the years 2015-16 and 2017-20.
The NGEA in its memorandum to Modi stated that as per records available in the GHADC, out of the total amount of Rs 100.71 crore, Rs 69,21,44,816 had been withdrawn in advance and utilized for the construction of various projects.
“A total of 1167 projects were taken up in various parts of Garo Hills during 2015-16. But in reality, most of these projects are still lying incomplete or were abandoned by the contractors while others are completely non-existent,” NGEA President, Senora Johny Arengh claimed.
Arengh said that after the utilization of Rs 69 plus crore for different projects in Garo Hills, the outstanding amount of Rs 31,49,55,184 is still unaccounted for. According to Arengh, RTI report also revealed that some of the major projects allotted from the central fund under special assistance scheme include the Rs 5,82,51,800 project for video documentary film on the culture, customs, festivals and overall lifestyle of the Garos and the Rs 6,01,31,100 project for construction of a Members’ Hostel in Tura.
However, he added that while the time frame for the completion of both projects has come and gone, none of the two projects has been completed despite the withdrawal of 60 percent of the sanctioned amount.
Arengh also claimed that the GHADC has on numerous occasions received financial assistance from the central government and questioned whether the funds released have been utilized for the purpose they are meant for. These include the Rs 28,66,40,000 in December, 2017, Rs 13,60,00,000 in June 2019 and Rs 31,00,40,000 in March 2019 besides others on different occasions between 2017-2020.
Raising questions about the proper utilization of all such funds from the centre, Arengh urged PM Modi to direct a CBI inquiry into their possible misappropriation, implementation of the 1167 projects in Garo Hills and if found guilty to book all those responsible for the misappropriation under relevant sections of law.