Contractors allege fund misuse

Our Correspondent

Itagar, March 21: A contractors’ body has alleged that the state government owes over a hundred crore rupees to contractors for various road projects and that the Centre has declared a state of emergency.

Writing to the governor, the All Aruchal Contractor’s Welfare Association (AACWA) has claimed that the government has “miserably failed to mage fiscal discipline” and that there has been misappropriation of funds.

The group, which calls itself the “apex business groups of Aruchal”, said that this has resulted in various departments being uble to submit utilization certificates to keep central funds flowing. As per a RTI document procured by the organisation, a total of Rs 1,132,908,236 has not been cleared by the government for road projects across the state under ARRDA. The contractors’ union said that misuse of funds is led to an increase in “unlawful activities by frustrated youths”. The association has called upon the governor to invoke Article 360 to recommend that the state be brought under a state of fincial emergency.

The association has also criticised the state government for failing to constitute the state Lokayukta despite the legislative assembly passing the Lokayukta Bill in 2014.

Amongst some of its complaints, the association also called for the scrapping of income tax deductions made against contractors belonging to the state’s Scheduled Tribes. The association said that the deduction is a violation of Constitutiol rights.

AACWA are also demanding that the earnest money deposit which is required to be paid by contractors as security money be relaxed for “ST and local contractors for any category of tender work”. The association claimed that a similar policy has already been adopted by other states in the region including Assam where the earnest deposit has been relaxed to one percent for the reserved categories.

Further, it has also sought an immediate lowering of enlistment fees and seizing the practice of implementing work under Special Plan Allocation and other Centrally Sponsored Schemes before receiving fincial sanction.