TURA, May 4: Meghalaya got its first case submitted to the Lokayukta after activist Nilbath Ch Marak (Dingnen) filed a case against the sitting MDC of Asananggre on May 3 on charges of corruption in work done under development funds from GHADC for 2017-2018.
The case was filed by Nilbath with the help of lawyer PT Sangma and Abhijit Modak.
According to the petition, Ismail Marak, the MDC, did not follow norms while allocating work in the Rs 1 crore that he received for development of his constituency but there are also allegations of the work not being completed.
�He (Ismail) gave all the projects of his constituency to two of his friends (Kubon Sangma and Nikseng Sangma) despite there being many other people who applied for the projects. There were many interested parties but as it was closed tendering, only 2 of his friends benefitted,� said Nilbath.
The information on misappropriation was known by Nilbath through an RTI filed by him at the GHADC.
A total of 49 projects which included ringwells, waiting sheds, roads among others were given to the two contractors.
The activist stated that prior to filing the case, he had found that almost none of the projects were completed or even taken up for the year 2017-2018.
Among the 49 projects, 35 related to road construction and graveyards were given to Kubon Sangma and 14 projects relating to ring wells and community halls were given to Nikseng.
�There is literally nothing on the ground from the Rs 1 crore meant for development and this gross misappropriation has led me to file the petition to the Lokayukta Secretary,� added Nilbath.
The complainant in his petition stated that the MDC as a public representative had used his power arbitrarily and as such abused his status as an MDC.
