SHILLONG, AUG 23: Opposition AITC legislator from Mawsynram Himalaya M Shangpliang on Tuesday alleged that the Border Area Development (BAD) department failed to sanction a single project during the last two years.
Speaking to reporters, Shangpliang informed that there is a centrally sponsored programme called the Border Area Development Programme (BADP) which is sanctioned and sponsored by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
He said the sad thing here is for the last two years not a single project has been sanctioned.
“I tried my best to find out the reason why and I tried to speak to the Secretary in-charge BAD, I tried to speak to the Director of BAD, I could not get a satisfactory reply. The department tells me that they have submitted all the papers required to the Government of India though at the state level, the committee has already cleared all the projects that have been submitted by various MLAs and from various constituencies,” he said.
The MLA informed he had submitted a proposal to the tune of almost Rs 2 crore for 2021-22 and again for another Rs 2 crore for 2022-23.
“Now, we are six months away from the elections, the people of our area who are on the international border are complaining of not receiving any developmental schemes under the BAD. I am totally dismayed by the way that the government is reacting to this whole matter,” he said.
Shangpliang said he had also raised this matter in the last Assembly and he was assured by the Minister in-charge BAD Lahkmen Rymbui that the matter will be taken up with the Government of India and the state should be getting the funds at the earliest.
“Now six months have gone, not a single penny has come. I do not understand why the delay and what is wrong that these sanctions have not been cleared by the Government of India,” he rued.
The opposition legislator further alleged that unofficially he got the information that the Government of India has not cleared these projects due to non-submission of utilization certificates by the state government.
Now, when funds have been released by Government of India, appropriate state shares should have been matched by the state government and whether the state shares have been given or not it is the state government to answer and whether utilization certificates have been submitted to the MHA that is also for the state government to answer, he said.
He further stated that the people should not suffer due to the negligence of the department or for non-submission of necessary documents and papers to the Government of India.
By Our Reporter
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