TURA, June 9: Reacting to the FIR filed by Tura MDC Bernard N Marak against leaders of the Reservegittim Locality Development Committee and his allegation that a particular lady citizen had bribed GHADC officials to obtain a land patta near the Circuit House, Tura, the concerned parties on Thursday issued separate clarifications coming down heavily on the BJP MDC.
Rubbishing the claim made by Bernard that the members of the Reservegittim Locality Development Committee were making illegal collection of money from residents on the pretext of getting pattas issued in their name, the secretary of the locality body, P Ch Marak, on behalf of the residents, said that the collections were made based on a resolution passed in a general meeting and only after the procurement of the pattas were allowed by the GHADC.
“He, being an MDC from the constituency in the GHADC should have known that nothing was illegal about it. His ignorance on the matter shows his incompetence to be a public leader,” Marak said, while further adding that there was no collection from Sillanggre locality as alleged by the Tura MDC.
With regard to his bribery charge against a local lady citizen allegedly to obtain a patta, the lady in question Marbline R Sangma said that the allegations were baseless, concocted and fabricated and made merely to malign her image.
Coming down heavily on the Tura MDC for being ignorant although he was the sitting MDC, Sangma quoted a GHADC notification dated December 16, 2021 which stated, ‘The GHADC is pleased to allow settlement of land for the genuine residents of de-Reserve living outside the Circuit House area based on the Gazette notification vide 15.05.1987 Tura Forest Reserved within the de-Reserved for the purpose of expansion of Tura Town and subsequently handed over to GHADC’.
“The fact is that I own a plot of land in the mentioned locality since time immemorial and I believe that I do not need to bribe any GHADC official for obtaining a patta. Such baseless allegation is nothing other than a shameful act of vested interest,” Sangma added.