ITANAGAR, 16 Oct: The People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) has accused the Pema Khandu-led BJP government in the state of indulging in rampant corruption.
The party said that the growing number of legal notices being served to the state government regarding crucial issues like misappropriation of panchayati raj, CAMPA and Covid-19 funds “need a systematic judicial inquiry.”
“The other major issue of concern shaking the public’s confidence in the state government,” the PPA said, “is the advancing regional inequality in terms of distribution of welfare schemes and funds among the districts.”
“Tawang district belonging to the chief minister takes away the major chunk of the state fund and the policies in promoting his district disregarding the equal growth of all the regions within the state with equal care and promotion has resulted in growing regional disparity among various districts and regions within the state,” PPA secretary-general Kaling Jerang said in a press statement on Saturday.
He also said that the creation of the department of Tawang and West Kameng districts “has given further more uneven distribution.”
Jerang said that “the people of Tawang district complain of favouritism and nepotism by the chief minister through a well-planned system, where 98 percent of the heads of departments come from one single community, who are working on Khandu’s political interest.”
“For decades, the public of the state have been mute spectators to various stories of misappropriation cases, one of the most scandalous among them being the siphoning of huge amounts from the SGRY scheme to the tune of Rs 68 crores, leading to the illegal appointment of district relief & rehabilitation officers (DRRO),” Jerang said.
“If corruption is to be arrested, there must be a systematic investigation against all those illegally appointed relief officers,” he said, adding that DRROs help in the execution of SGRY schemes.
“The SGRY scandal is pending in the Supreme Court in the form of public interest litigation,” Jerang said.
He added: “Two work orders for the amount of Rs 20,26,38,145 and Rs 16,47,52,854 were awarded to one Namgyal Tashi Thungon, the proprietor of M/s Nirvana Enterprises, Bomdila, West Kameng. This work order was issued through unfair means with the help of one assistant engineer, who was appointed on officiating basis as executive engineer to assist (Pema Khandu) in executing it fraudulently. M/s Nirvana Enterprises has submitted fake bank guarantees and upon verification, the (ICICI) bank has denied issuance of such bank guarantee.”
Jerang described it as “a classic example of discrimination among various districts.”
He also said that “many organizations have raised various issues of the state’s interest with ultimatums of democratic movements against the state government.
“But the government has been turning a deaf ear to their demands because of the Unlawful Activities Act, which is being used as a tool to silence the democratic voices,” Jerang said.
The PPA demanded a clarification from the state government regarding the allegations of misappropriation/misuse of funds, stating that “the public will no longer remain mute spectators to the happenings.”
