A CORRESPONDENT
SILCHAR: Former Silchar MLA Dipayan Chakraborty has sought to distance himself from allegations of corruption in the Silchar Municipal Corporation (SMC), even as the Assam Government intensifies action against alleged irregularities in the civic body.
The statement came after three municipal officials were suspended following an internal inquiry into the functioning of the corporation during the six years when it had no elected board. Chakraborty also courted controversy by claiming in a social media post that not being invited to the dais during the oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected councillors reflected a ‘narrow mentality.’
Speaking to this correspondent, Chakraborty maintained that he had no role in the municipality’s administrative or financial affairs during his tenure as MLA. He said that the civic body was managed by the executive officer in the absence of an elected board and that, as an ex-officio member, he neither had the authority to award contracts nor to approve fund disbursements.
He further claimed that at least ten review meetings were held under the Urban Development Department during the period, but no evidence of corruption or malpractice had surfaced. According to him, all tenders were floated by the district administration, and contracts were awarded to the lowest bidders in accordance with established procedures.
Chakraborty’s remarks are significant as opposition parties had repeatedly alleged that a corruption syndicate operated within the corporation under the influence of the former MLA’s political network.