IMPHAL, January 6: An amount of around Rs 20 crore, which was sanctioned to the state Horticulture and Soil Conservation department through various schemes and projects including from North East Council (NEC) is suspected to have been misappropriated.
According to a reliable source, The Horticulture & Soil Conservation Department has a state level steering committee led by the State’s Chief Secretary as chairman.
An amount of Rs 2.5 crore was sanctioned to the committee under the project, ‘Horticulture Mission for North East and Himalayan Region,’ for the development and promotion of centre of excellence schemes in the financial year 2012-13. However, it was found out that the chairman of the state level steering committee in this case, the Chief Secretary has no knowledge of who, when and where was the said fund was used.
Amidst this unaccountability, another fund allocation of Rs 344.42 lakh which was sanctioned to four farms in three hill districts and Jiribam Sub-division in Imphal East district by NEC is said to have been misappropriated.
The NEC has sanctioned the said fund under the project ‘Revival of Progeny Orchard cum Nursery (POCN)’ to the four farms- Cashewnut Development Farm, Jiribam; Progeny Orchard cum Nursery, Maram; Progeny Orchard cum Nursery Thawai village, Mahadev, Ukhrul; and Progeny Orchard cum Nursery, Geliang, Churachandpur.
Another 2.15 crore development fund sanctioned under management and conservation of ‘Loktak Lake’ in the financial year 2010-11 by Loktak Development Authority (LDA) to Horticulture and Social Conservation department is also said to have been misappropriated. Other fund misappropriation in the department includes, Rs 10 crore which was sanctioned in the financial year 2010-11 under the project, Watershed Development Project in Shifting Cultivated Area (WDPSCA); fund sanctioned to the department starting from the financial year 2006-07 till the current financial year 2012-13 under the project, River Valley Project (RVP) and Rs 5 lakh each provided every year to Magfruit Processing Unit which has stop function after a fire incident in March 3, 2001.