Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has denied any wrongdoing in the procurement of vehicles and misuse of POL by an official at the Police Headquarters. This, when the inquiry clearly points to several procedural anomalies and vehicles not being registered because of these anomalies. An independent enquiry into all the scams by the MDA Government are called for at this juncture. Any departmental enquiry is bound to reach a cul-de-sac since those committing malfeasance have the full support of the political leadership and their bosses in the Department. Inquiries into the Smart Meter scam, Rice procurement scam by the Social Welfare Department and the Cheristerfield Thangkhiew killing seem to have gone off the radar for want of public action. Time was when leading pressure groups would call out corruption and ensure that scamsters were punished. Now they have all gone silent with the exception of the Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) which has been following up on these scams by way of RTI queries. Questions arise as to why some pressure groups only zero in on the Inner Line Permit (ILP) which is more of a mirage but turn a blind eye to open loot in the government. No wonder the public has lost faith in these pressure groups that surface only before the elections.
Coming to political parties, only the Trinamool Congress has been doing its homework in unearthing irregularities in the MDA government including the recently raised queries on the Smart City Project and the Police Department ‘scam.’ The Congress Party reacts in fits and starts which suggests a lack of diligence in delving into matters that affect the state and its people. Misuse and/or leakage of public funds indirectly affects the quality of governance. When the Police Department purchases vehicles it is because the police need greater mobility in detecting and preventing crime. Without adequate vehicles at the Police Stations they would be hamstrung especially these days when drug peddling, murder and other serious crimes are on the rise. The vehicle acquisition saga where a large number of vehicles are parked at the residence of a police officer who calls the shots at the Police Headquarters suggests a contractor-police nexus (in this case vehicle supplier/s)and has to be unearthed. There has to be a public demand for this. Without active public intervention all these scams will be swept under the carpet to be repeated in the next tenure as well. Interestingly, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma is now focussing on crimes in West Garo Hills including those of his beta noire Bernard Marak and he has the full cooperation of the Police Department there. Does this mean crime abounds only in West Garo Hills while the bigger crimes affecting the entire Police Department are being stoutly defended? What’s this if not a pre-election gimmick?
