Soil & Water Conservation dept accused of carrying out work according to its whims and fancies
From Our Correspondent
TURA, Aug 23: An RTI application seeking information on the status of various schemes implemented by the Soil & Water Conservation department in all the districts of Garo Hills has revealed widespread inadequacies and discrepancies in project execution under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).
The Niksamso Garo Community Organisation (NGCO), which filed the RTI application, said the findings showed that most works and expenditures were not aligned with the provisions outlined in the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs).
When representatives from the NGCO interacted with Watershed Committee members across districts, they reportedly admitted that they had little knowledge of project details, as departmental staff themselves identified sites and executed works without proper consultation.
Citing RTI responses, the NGCO said officials claimed there was no contract component under PMKSY, and projects were carried out directly by the department.
However, on-the-ground verification revealed major shortfalls.
For example, against a plan for 120 tailoring units per watershed, only 15 were found; in place of 10 grocery units, only three or four existed. Each grocery unit was allotted Rs 1.5 lakh, but many villages showed inadequate or no visible work.
The organisation further alleged that despite numerous action plans, including fishery ponds, check dams, cattle sheds, afforestation, tailoring, piggery, poultry farms, mushroom sheds, trenches, gabion walls, rice mills and rubber smoke units, implementation between 2021 and 2025, remained grossly insufficient.
“We are unhappy with the outcome and inadequacies in the implementation of PMKSY scheme in Garo Hills since 2021 to 2025. In all the central schemes implemented through the Soil & Water Conservation Department, the works are being done by the department itself according to their own whims and fancies,” the organisation alleged.
Questioning the lack of substantial progress, the organisation then asked, “For many years if the department has been taking up and working on the schemes for development, why has there been no substantial development in Garo Hills region under the Soil Department till date?”
It may be mentioned that the NGCO has made its findings public and vowed to continue pushing for central intervention to ensure accountability and corrective measures.
