Residents to file case against PHE Department
From Our Correspondent
NONGALBIBRA, July 7: Villagers of South Garo Hills (SGH) district’s Nengja area, whose names appeared as beneficiaries in the Jal Jeevan Mission schemes of Dobakol Simsanggittim and Raksengre, have decided to file a case against the PHE Department.
The decision follows an FIR filed by social activist Nilbath Ch Marak against the PHED over falsification of names in the two villages mentioned.
Marak had earlier flagged the projects in Dobakol Simsanggittim and Raksengre, which is a part of the Nongalbibra WSS in SGH but falls under the Simsanggre Circle of the East Garo Hills district.
He alleged that Simsanggittim had no households despite the JJM dashboard showing 36 of the 38 households given FHTC (Functional Household Tap Connections). The abandoned village, according to him, is now being used as a graveyard.
In the case of Raksengre, Marak alleged no village existed in the Nongalbibra area or anywhere in Garo Hills other than in the annals of the PHED, which he wants investigated. The non-existent Raksengre, too, shows almost all households with FHTC.
The villagers of the Nengja area met on Monday morning at the community hall at Dobakol Nengja. It was attended by many named as beneficiaries in the schemes for Simsanggittim and Raksengre. If that were not enough, several of those named expired more than 10 years ago, while college-going students are listed in some cases.
“I was born here and can vouch for the fact that our Aking does not have Raksengre as a locality or village. Further, Simsanggittim has been abandoned since 1991-92 and currently acts as a graveyard. There is no question of households being present there. We don’t want to be implicated in the corruption of the department, as this is a central fund we are talking about. We will file a complaint with the police in Nongalbibra PS on this matter,” stated the son of the Nokma.
His elder brother, along with many others who gathered at Dobokkal Nengja, echoed his thoughts, with many asking how such oversight was allowed.
“My husband and father passed away, but they still feature in the list of beneficiaries for a village that we never heard of or grew up in. This is disgraceful, to say the least. They have to pay for what they have done,” said one of those named as beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, an investigation into the case is currently being undertaken by the SGH police. Sources within the police department said that no village named Raksengre existed, and no one lives in Simsanggittim anymore.
An explanation is currently being sought from the PHE’s Simsanggre Circle, whose officials are said to have stated that the inclusion of the villages was the fault of the system, as they could not delete these names. They also stated that no corruption took place.
Their explanation appeared hollow as Simsanggittim was abandoned 33 years ago, and Raksengre never existed.
“So why were they there in the first place? The data which they are talking about cannot be 30+ years old, can it? There is something fishy going on, and those who have embezzled public funds need to be punished accordingly,” Marak said.