GUWAHATI, July 2: Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on Wednesday demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the Garukhuti dairy project.
Addressing mediapersons here, senior Congress leader Ram Prasad Sharma claimed that there has been a clear mismatch in the statements made by Padma Hazarika, the project chairman, and chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Sharma pointed out that the project came up over 77,000 bighas of farm land with a total expenditure of nearly Rs 25 crore.
‘After MLA Padma Hazarika was elevated to a Cabinet rank, and a huge amount of public funds spent, people expected the project to benefit the common man and provide employment to the unemployed. The chief minister and the project chairman had claimed that milk production from Gir cows in Garukhuti would meet Assam’s dairy demand. The project had shown hope that the production of vegetables, fruits and dairy products would revitalise Assam’s economy. But instead, there has been misuse of public money and politicisation of the entire initiative,” the Congress leader said.
APCC media department chairman Bedabrata Bora alleged irregularities in the tender process for the procurement of 300 Gir cows from Gujarat through the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
Bora questioned why NDDB was given the responsibility to procure cows and who is accountable for the death of some of the procured Gir cows.
Demanding a judicial inquiry into the matter, he also questioned why 90 of the newly procured 300 cows were offloaded at Rangia station and distributed among ministers, MLAs and BJP leaders without any public notice or tender.
“There is a clear discrepancy in the statements of the chief minister and the project chairman. If 90 cows were distributed among ministers and MLAs, and 154 were returned due to illness, then how many remain after 56 cows have died?” he further asked.