SHILLONG, Sept 15 - Alleging misappropriation of funds meant for poor beneficiaries in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC), the Congress today demanded the Governor�s Rule in the council to check the alleged corrupt practices.
In a letter to Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik, Opposition leader Mukul Sangma has said that the provisions of Para 16 (2) of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India should be invoked to bring the GHADC under the Governor�s Rule.
Sangma also sought an independent probe into the alleged �rampant corruption� in the GHADC. �An independent enquiry should be instituted over alleged misappropriation and siphoning-off of funds meant for development of backward tribal areas and poor tribal residents by the GHADC,� the Opposition leader said.
Sangma, a former Chief Minister of Meghalaya, said if a probe is not conducted urgently, the evidence of crime would be destroyed. �The allegations have enough substance based on inputs that a concerted effort is being made to destroy evidence by the people in authority, which must be prevented immediately,� he stressed.
�Financial mismanagement and alleged corruption in the GHADC have also brought misery to the council employees as they have not been paid their salaries for the last two years, crippling the very functioning of the autonomous council,� Sangma added.
