TURA, Aug 4: Dozens of job card holders in the plain-belt region of Phulbari, under Demdema Block of West Garo Hills, have written to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma seeking a probe into anomalies taking place in implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) wherein some people are reportedly having multiple job cards and even ghost names in connivance with the project implementers to get paid for man days they don’t even participate in.
While such discrepancies are prevailing in many blocks due to corrupt practices of some presidents and secretaries of the village employment councils (VECs), job card holders of Pabomari VEC under Demdema has registered a complaint with the government accusing their secretary and president of including names of people deceased and even those in government service as job card holders to increase the number of workers under their council.
To make matters worse, both the president and the secretary allegedly appointed their own wives to their respective posts while they themselves went on to contest the recent GHADC elections, unsuccessfully.
The VEC president, Jahanuddin Sheikh, nominated his wife Noor Banu Bibi to his own post, while secretary Enamul Islam handed over his position to his wife Lovely Begum.
Among other discrepancies, a total of 34 additional names have been included to the VEC by the two accused leaders. These additional names include those who are no longer alive, as well as individuals who changed their names multiple times, even though the election identity card came from only one individual.
A headmaster of a school, a booth-level organiser, a school teacher, and even ASHA health workers and Anganwadi workers, already drawing government salaries, have allegedly made it to the list.
One example is that of a school headmaster, Golam Hussain, who has allegedly gotten himself included in three different names — Galam Hussain and Golap Hussain — to avail the extra man days for which he will get paid. Then there is also the controversy surrounding the construction of an Anganwadi centre at Pabomari village allegedly undertaken by the VEC secretary by using outsiders in place of the village job card holders.
In light of multiple complaints, angry villagers want the government to undertake a thorough probe and action against the culprits, prime accused being former VEC president and secretary.
