A division bench of the Gauhati High Court, comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury, has issued a notice to Assam's Panchayat and Rural Development (P&RD) Department, seeking an explanation over allegations of irregular payments to contractors.
The order came during the hearing of PIL 24/2026, filed over concerns that public funds under the 15th Finance Commission were disbursed to contractors without verifying whether the assigned works had actually been completed.
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The petitioner has brought specific allegations relating to 15 development projects carried out in gram panchayats under the Lala Development Block in Hailakandi district, spanning the financial years 2020 to 2023.
The projects covered a range of essential rural infrastructure — repairs to anganwadi centres and school buildings, and the construction of community halls, cremation grounds, and public toilets.
According to the petition, all 15 works were allotted to just two contractors, who have been named as respondents in the case. The petitioner alleges that both contractors were paid the full amount against their bills without any verification of work completion — and critically, without certification from any accredited engineer.
The petition states that most of the works remain incomplete to this day.
The petitioner's account of how these anomalies came to light is telling in itself.
He had personally worked on one of the projects but had not received payment. While trying to find out why workers had not been paid — even though the contractor had already been compensated — he uncovered what he describes as a pattern of collusive payments and incomplete works.
His allegations are based on direct personal knowledge gathered during that process.
Central to the PIL is the question of how 15th Finance Commission funds are being utilised at the grassroots level.
These funds are specifically earmarked for village-level development — roads, schools, toilets, and community infrastructure. The petitioner has urged the court to ensure such funds are spent in a transparent and accountable manner, with proper oversight mechanisms in place.
The bench acknowledged that it had initially been inclined to stay out of the matter, but ultimately decided that the scale of the alleged irregularity warranted judicial scrutiny.
"We were tentatively of the view that there were no specifics in this petition requiring us to interfere in the matter, but considering that a huge amount has been paid without ensuring that works had been completed, we consider it necessary to ask the respondents to explain," the bench stated.
The court has directed all respondents — including the P&RD Department and the two contractors — to respond to the notices at the next hearing.