FIRs registered in 37,976 criminal cases: CM Biren
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, August 02 2024: Chief minister N Biren Singh has said that FIRs in total of 37,976 criminal cases have been registered and charge sheets filed for 2332 cases.

Replying to opposition MLA K Ranjit's posers during question hour in Friday's sitting of the on-going Assembly, the chief minister informed that over the past five years, FIRs for a total of 37,976 criminal cases have been registered, including 11,892 cases related to the current crisis.

Charge sheets have been filed for 2,332 cases.

Senior officers are overseeing these cases, and investigating officers (IOs) directed during meetings to expedite investigations, promptly file charge sheets and make arrests.

Additionally, a monitoring cell has been established to take action against IOs who fail to take up cases within six months, although no actions have been taken against any IOs at present.

Regarding Ranjit's query on delay in declaring results of Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) recruitment under the education department, education minister Th Bas-antakumar informed that the results have been postponed due to financial constraints.

Currently, out of the sanc-tioned 1452 posts of MTS, 583 are vacant including some posts due to retirements.

Despite shortage of MTS posts, the DPC results for 2019 have not been announced due to the COVID-19 pandemic and financial limitations.

However, the DPC results are expected to be declared soon after consultation with the chief minister.

In response to opposition MLA K Meghachandra's inquiry about pending utilization certificates (UC), chief minister N Biren stated that there are 5,595 UCs pending from 2003-04 to March 31, 2023, amounting to Rs 13.983 crore as per the AG's report.

The delay has been primarily attributed to resettlement issues or failure to submit despite reconciliation attempts with the AG office.

Additionally, the chief minister mentioned that some UCs are pending due to fund misuse, ongoing criminal investigations, court cases, and other reasons, although such cases are relatively few in number.

The chief minister also informed the House that the increase in pending UCs since 2017-18 is attributable to the higher allocation of funds released by the government to implementing departments.

Out of the total 5,595 pending UCs, 3,575 UCs are currently being adjusted, he said and assured that this adjustment will not pose any problems for the state government.

On Meghachandra's query on cold storage, the CM clarified that the cold storage in Nilukuthi ceased functioning some nine years back due to technical failure and stated that repairing will be initiated to restore its functionality for the benefit of the people.

Agriculture minister Th Biswajit, responding to queries from opposition MLA Th Lokeshwar regarding delay in compensating farmers, claimed that the agriculture department has provided monetary compensation to farmers affected by the crisis that began on May 3 last year.

In the first phase, 3483 farmers received compensation under the crop compensatory package, and in the second 2071 farmers were compensated.

The minister dismissed claims that farmers in relief camps had not received crop compensation, stating that all farmers who submitted the necessary documents have been compensated under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and Crop Compensatory Package.

He mentioned that there might be some farmers who did not receive compensation via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) .

The process to initiate fund transfers through DBT for those missed in the first phase will begin after perusing their documents in consultation with the DC.

In response to MLA Th Lokeshwar's query about accommodation for security personnel, chief minister N Biren stated that all expenses for security personnel deployed after the crisis are covered by the government.

The state government provides logistical support for Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) with the expenditures reimbursed through the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme.

The CAPF's food expenses are managed by their parent department, he said.

A total of Rs 79.16 crore has been sanctioned for accommodating 50 companies of central forces, with construction underway in some areas.

Once construction is completed, their accommodation issues will be resolved.

Plans include mixing central and state forces and housing them in the newly constructed facilities, said the CM.

In response to a query from opposition MLA Surjakumar Okram, power minister Th Biswajit clarified that there is currently no policy to waive electricity bill or other dues for various industrial and non-industrial units, including micro, small, and medium enterprises, affected by the crisis.

He further mentioned that consumers of industrial and non-industrial enterprises already benefit from subsidised rates.

However, decisions on potential measures in this regard will be considered in consultation with the chief minister.

In response to his another query regarding Internally Displaced Persons IDPs), chief minister N Biren stated that 391 IDPs are beneficiaries of the One Family One Livelihood Mission.

Among these beneficiaries, 340 are consistently repaying their loans, 6 have' loans classified as Non-Performing Assets (NPA), 25 are irregular in their loan repayments, and 20 have successfully completed then-loan payments.

He emphasised that there is no policy in place to convert their loans into grants.

The chief minister also informed that those who have successfully repaid then-loans will be eligible to apply for larger loans.

Measures will be implemented to assist the 6 beneficiaries classified as NPAs by providing them with initial capital to restart their businesses and facilitate repayment of their outstanding loan amounts.

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