Imphal, January 03: Conveying deep concern over the alleged act of siphoning off a larger percentage of the total amount sanctioned for various development works in Tamenglong district, the Tamenglong Public Forum has demanded transparency in the whole process of executing any contract work meant for the public in the district.

A statement issued by the Forum while hailing Works Minister K Ranjit for his personal inspection tour of various development works being taken in different parts of the State, lamented that against hundreds of crores of rupees sanctioned for Tamenglong district there was little achievement on ground.

Some influential individuals in connivance with officials and Ministers have been robbing the mass by swindling a larger percentage of the total amount sanctioned for various development programmes and welfare schemes only to accumulate wealth for themselves.

Observing that most of the works being implemented in Tamenglong district were sub-standard, the Tamenglong Public Forum conveyed deep apprehension that hundreds of crores of rupees sanctioned under current CSS, SPA, BNP etc may be misappropriated again by unscrupulous officials, engineers and contractors in collusion with some Ministers.

The TPF further noted that there has been no tangible improvement on ground despite various central sponsored schemes like ACA, SPA, PMGSY, RSVP, NEC etc taken up in the district since decades.

It remarked that Tamenglong district is in the worst stage of corruption.

Asserting that division of Tamenglong district into four different divisions of Works Dept has been aggravating the corruption level, the TPF demanded that all the divisions be combined together into one Tamenglong Division.

Urging for transparency in the whole process of issuing and executing a contract work, the TPF also raised a charter of demands which include not to issue any work order without inviting open tender.

The other demands were no UG groups should interfere in developmental works and all Department heads and staff should attend duty at their respective posts of posting and discharge their duties properly.

In any case of default, the TPF would approach the law court to penalise the erring officials and redress the grievances of public, it cautioned.

Comment