Dimapur, August 19 (EMN): ACAUT Nagaland, not for the first time, has called out one of the state government agencies concerning misappropriation of financial figures.
The anti-corruption movement on Saturday issued statement branding the oft-repeated choice of “ministers and MLAs’ as the state having no money for development as “absolutely fabricated”. It cited figures obtained from the department of finance to buttress its point. According to the Finance Department (FD), a whopping amount of Rs. 1188,79,10,000/- (1188 Crores 79 Lakhs and 10 thousand only) has been released for MGNREGA payments for the year 2016-17. While a total of Rs. 591,10,80,000 Crores (591 Cr 10 lakhs and 80 thousand) was drawn between April and October 2016, another handsome amount was drawn dated 1st May, 2017, for the year 2016-17. Thus, while all the villages in Nagaland are complaining that only 3 or 4 out of 100 man-day wages in a year are being paid, the finance department and the RD department seems to be in honeymoon period”, it stated.
ACAUT asked the department concerned whether it was indulging in ‘double withdrawals since some of the documents indicates so’. “Why the RDD is giving out only 3 to 4 man-day wages in a year despite the colossal amount being released by the GoI. The FD should clarify on the actual amount released by the department for the year 2016-17 for MGNREGA programme since the ACAUT suspects that the amount released is higher than the projected Rs. 1188 Cr ”, it also demanded to know.
The ACAUT also asked the chief minister to ‘clarify to the Naga people as to where such a huge amount was utilized against the background of villagers being paid only 3 to 4 man-day wages’. “The Chief Minister TR Zeliang should not allow the Nagas to conclude that this colossal amount has been siphoned off for personal gains or to be utilized in the next 2018 elections”, it state.
