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Fresh list of beneficiaries mere eyewash: AASAA

By Staff Correspondent

DIBRUGARH, May 31 - The All Adivasi Students� Association of Assam (AASAA) has termed the Tea Tribes Welfare Department�s attempt to furnish a fresh list of candidates for the disbursement of funds to candidates under two development welfare schemes of the State government, as a mere eyewash.

The students� body of the Adivasi community has alleged that the Tea Tribes Welfare Directorate had failed to rectify the glaring anomalies in the selection of beneficiaries. The scrutiny of the list of beneficiaries by the department concerned is only a deception and a deliberate attempt to deprive the poor, meritorious and deserving candidates as names of several ineligible persons appears in the list of beneficiaries which is meant only for the tea tribes and Adivasi communities. AASAA has threatened to take the matter to the court if the concerned department fails to get it rectified.

It may be mentioned that in the list of beneficiaries of Swahid Dayal Das Panika Swaniyojan Achoni of granting one-time financial assistance, and the Simon Singh Horo Special Scholarship Scheme for tea and ex-tea tribe Adivasi students and youths, for the year 2019-20, gross anomalies were reported in the district-level selection process, where names of several members of some Welfare Dpartment officials featured in the beneficiary list, although not qualified for the schemes.

In the list published by the Tea Welfare Directorate in March this year, names of several candidates not belonging to the tea or Adivasi community were included. This evoked strong protest from AASAA, ATTSA and other oraganisations. Jolted by mass protests, the Directorate vide notification DTGW/DUV/60/2015/part1/196 ordered a re-examination, assured rectification and publication of fresh list of deserving candidates, binding April 24 as deadline for lodging e-complaints and rectification in names and bank accounts.

Following the notification, candidates filed online complaints but in the fresh list published recently by the Rupnagar based headquarters of the Tea Welfare Directorate, the same anomalies have been detected, AASAA president Stephen Lakra and general secretary Deben Urang alleged in a press release.

AASAA has termed the re-assessment exercise futile, a mere eyewash and deliberate attempt to hoodwink the public as the list still contains names of beneficiaries not belonging to the target beneficiary communities. The AASAA has taken strong exception to the inclusion of candidates with surnames such as Tiwari, Seal, Shah, Suklabaidya, Khan, Begum, Choudhury, Islam, Bharadwaj, Patwari, Nath, Deori, Barman, Patel, Yadav and Sultana etc.

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