From Our Correspondent
TURA, Sep 7: The ruling NPP alliance in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) drew flak from opposition Congress MDCs over the issue of fund utilisation and revenue generation during the ongoing budget session of the Council in Tura.
Congress MDC Cherak W Momin sought a series of queries from the treasury benches about the construction of the Members Hostel in Tura under the Special Assistance of Central Plan Scheme for 2015-16, for which the central government had released a whopping Rs 100 crores to the GHADC.
Executive Member in charge of Civil Works, replying to the Congress query, said that the work was allotted to Sanjay A Sangma in the year 2016 and cost of the project was Rs 6,01,31,000 (six crores one lakh thirty one thousand) and was supposed to have been completed in two years time.
Sanjay A Sangma is the brother-in-law of Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and Cabinet Minister James K Sangma. He unsuccessfully contested the last assembly polls on an NPP ticket against Congress legislator Dikkanchi D Shira in Mahendraganj.
Despite five years having passed the Members Hostel remains incomplete with no further works taken up.
When asked how much money has already been released to the contractor, Sanjay A Sangma, despite the project remaining incomplete, it was made known to the House that already 60 per cent of the total amount i.e. Rs 3,60,78,660 (three crore sixty lakh seventy-eight thousand six hundred and sixty rupees) has been withdrawn by the contractor.
Several questions totaling over 17 numbers had been prepared by the opposition but only six were taken up during the second day of the budget session.
The opposition Congress has accused the ruling NPP alliance of holding a shortened session despite many pending issues plaguing the GHADC.
“We have even sought an extension of another two days of session so as to cover all areas and queries but it has been rejected by the Chairman of the house,” informed Williamnagar Congress MDC Alphonsus R Marak in a statement to The Shillong Times.
The Congress had also demanded to know the criteria and reasons for the NPP alliance appointing two non-MDCs to the positions of Chief Adviser and Chairman of High Powered Committee. While CEM Benedic R Marak acknowledged that appointments were indeed done, yet he declined to provide details about the qualification of Chief Adviser Akki A Sangma and HPC Chairman Rusdraswar Ch Momin when questioned by the Congress member.