Cachar BJP determined to cause CBI inquiry into Cachar Zilla Parishad scandal
SILCHAR, August 6: Cachar district BJP will not rest till it has exposed to the hilt the magnitude and dimension of development fund embezzlement of Cachar Zilla Parishad, pointed out Kaushik Rai, President of the district committee. He said party workers and leaders would stage sit in demonstration before the office of the Zilla Parishad on August 21 in order to highlight the politician–bureaucrat nexus in the siphoning of huge funds. The objective is to pressure the state government to cause CBI inquiry.
It is to be recollected that last June 12, BJP leaders and workers stormed into the office of the Zilla Parishad, brought down its flag and burnt it, occupied the chairs after driving out the officials and employees of different levels. On July 31, a delegation of BJP leaders met the Governor of Assam, J B Patnaik, and submitted a memorandum to him, detailing the enormous development funds of Zilla Parishad having been embezzled and the former CEO, Banhishikha Dutta, being the kingpin of it. They also impressed upon the governor for the CBI inquiry.
In the meantime, a report of the District Vigilance and Monitoring Committee submitted by the present CEO in charge Swapan Kumar Das, ADC, has revealed siphoning of Rs. 19.40 crore from the development funds of the Zilla Parishad. The amount of money embezzled in gross violation of all rules, regulations and procedures, the report says, might be double and even more than what has been brought out. Kabindra Purkayastha, MP and Chairman of the Vigilance and Monitoring Committee, has suggested CBI inquiry. The report at the same time stresses that the accused and guilty involved in the embezzlement of funds should be made to pay back the amounts individually siphoned off by them. Their properties, movable and immovable, should be mortgaged and bank accounts sealed, it has also been suggested. Within a fortnight, it has been learned that the audit team of State CID will reach here from Guwahati and investigate the corruptions and its level in Zilla Parishad. So far, it has been brought forth from the report of the Vigilance and Monitoring Committee that the amount of Rs 19.40 crore siphoned off is not the total picture of corruption. This has been under the funds allotted under Fourth Assam Finance, National Social Assistance Programme and Third Assam Finance only. The assessment of level of corruptions under Twelfth Finance Commission, Eleventh Finance Commission, Backward Region Fund and District Development Programme is yet to be done.
An idea of how funds have been simply lifted and pocketed by the vicious circles headed by Banhishikha Dutta, former CEO, can well be understood from the fact that Rs 6.68 crore under Fourth Assam Finance during 2011–12 earmarked for the construction of GP offices, Rs 3.52 crore under National Social Assistance Programme during 2012–13 have been siphoned off. And the highest amount of Rs 9.20 crore allotted for construction of 115 community halls during 2011–12 has also been embezzled without any construction.
Source: The Sentinel (07.08.2013)
