By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, March 23: The ill-famous Saubhagya scheme which generated a lot of heat during the tenure of the previous government, found its way into the Assembly once again with the Opposition on Thursday demanding a clarification from the government on the various allegations of corruption in its implementation.
“When we talk about Saubhagya scheme there are lot of allegations in relation to its implementation. Is there any irregularity or misappropriation of funds in its implementation?” Congress legislator from Umsning, Celestine Lyngdoh questioned.
In reply, Power Minister, Abu Taher Mondal said that after the allegations came to the fore, the government had instituted an inquiry committee which submitted its report that has been sent to the MeECL for its comment.
“The MeECL has commented on the report and now we have sent it to the Finance department for further comments and only after that we will be able to say if there is any irregularity or not,” Mondal added.
Earlier, replying to a question raised by PDF’s Mawkynrew MLA, Banteidor Lyngdoh, the Power minister said that the total number of villages covered under Saubhagya in Mawkynrew till February 2023 is 53.
To another query why only 53 villages out of 72 were covered, Mondal said it was due to the unavailability of funds. He assured that the remaining villages would be covered in due course.
Mondol also informed that Rs 657.05 crore has been sanctioned for the Saubhagya scheme for the state.
UDP legislator from Mawkyrwat, Renikton L Tongkhar wanted to know the mind of the government on the villages that are yet to be electrified. Replying to the query, Mondal said the original idea was to electrify every village but somehow it could not be covered for reasons already cited. “However, the government will take all initiative to provide electricity to every village,” he added.
