IMPHAL, Jan 13: The Hill Tribal Council (HTC) has alleged that the government of Manipur is not sincere in developing Moreh, the Indo-Myanmar border town, and has further warned that if the development programs meant for the border town are not translated into work at the earliest possible, the Central government would be notified and befitting agitation resorted to.
A press communiqué from the council has sought to highlight malfeasance and highhandedness of the bureaucrats and the government saying the majority of proposal under the 13th finance commission awarded for border area development of Moreh are being done without spot assessment and without consulting the local people.
Since the local problems are best known by the local people, bypassing them has resulted in various development projects of the State and Central government failing to reach the objective and target of the program which is a huge loss to the people, land as well as the government. Only the cooperation of the local people will help in achieving the required objective, it said.
The council has also expressed its skepticism on the sincerity of the concerned departments in the execution of development projects. The proposal under Border Area Development (BAD) for Moreh has been doubled, suggesting “sinister design to misuse the fund by all those involved in the implementation of the programâ€, it alleged.
To obviate the possibility for misuse and misappropriation of funds, the council has claimed that it had sought a meeting with the project director (PD) of Manipur Development Society (MDS), Ningthem, at his residence to apprise him of the situation but the PD refused to grant them audience on several occasions.
The HTC has therefore decided not to remain a silent spectator but to oversee that the BAD programs are implemented at the right places and deserving areas as per the exact amount sanctioned and with quality work.
If the State government and implementing agencies fail to utilize the said grant fund genuinely, the council will be compelled to state its grievances to the Central government and will resort to any form of agitation for which the government shall alone bear the consequences, it has warned.
