Naga People’s Front (NPF) legislators from Kohima, Mokokchung and Tuensang districts on Friday slammed the People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA) for the delay and change in allocation of Rs 96 crore grant-in-aid.
The fund was released by the Niti Ayog in November 2017 to facilitate developmental activities in rural blocks.
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Dimapur district NPF legislators Azheto Zhimomi and Moatoshi Longkumer in a joint statement earlier said the Dimapur District Rural Development Agency) had not received grant-in-aid for rural blocks for 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2017-18.
NPF legislators of Kohima district Khriehu Liezietsu and Keneizhakho Nakhro, in a joint statement, said the Rs 96 crore sanctioned by Niti Aayog in November 2017 as part of special additional grant of Rs 185.09 crore to Nagaland never found its way to the beneficiaries.
They said the NPF-led by Opposition leader T R Zeliang had been vocal about the disappearance of the grant-in-aid for almost a year.
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The two MLAs alleged that the state rural development department “in an attempt to save their political masters is squirming to find a safe passage out of it by throwing words like ‘guidelines’ ‘criteria’ et. al”.
They also alleged that the department was also not performing as per central ministry’s laid down guidelines.
“This attitude of the present government to randomly change things according to their whims and fancy is a dangerous precedent,” they said.
The four NPF legislators from Mokokchung – Imkong L Imchen, Dr Nganshi Ao, Amenba Yaden and Dr Imtiwapang – said after the sanction of the grant-in-aid in November 2017, the high-level committee constituted by the state government in December 2017 did the sub-allocation with the rural development department.
However, the MLAs said after the NDPP-led PDA government was installed in March 2018, the sub-allocation done by the high-level committee was altered, which was against the norm and practice.
The MLAs have appealed to the Nagaland governor to look into this matter and take corrective measures “before this government makes a further mockery of the democratic system and governance and also in line with the guidelines of the government of India”.
The NPF legislators of Tuensang district – Toyang Chang, Kejong Chang and Muthingyuba Sangtam – alleged that Rs 96 crore, had gone missing for almost a year since its clearance from the state finance department and miraculously reappeared for some of the districts.
“This is quiet astonishing for any department in the state by any standard,” the three MLAs said in a joint statement.