PIL filed against BTC for corruption in BTR

Guwahati: Just a few days left for the Bodoland Territorial Council elections, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed against the BTC at the Gauhati High Court. BTC is headed by its Chief Executive Member and Bodoland People's Front chairperson Hagrama Mohilary. The PIL is filed at the Gauhati HC on the charges of corruption in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).

Mohilary has been ruling the BTR since the year 2003. He has formed the government thrice in BTR.

The PIL has been filed by an advocate from Kokrajhar, Narapati Brahma and a social worker of Dispur, Ranjan Kumar Baruah. The other respondents of the PIL are the ministry of home affairs, Governor of Assam and state government of Assam.

The PIL was filed due to the following reasons: illegal and unchecked corruption through which funds were misused in the departments of Welfare of Plain Tribes and Backward Classes, Rural Development, Textile and Handloom, Agriculture, Sports, Transport, Information and Public Relation, Education, Social Welfare, Fishery etc. The misappropriation of funds was carried out by the Executive Members of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), several officials, suppliers, contractors, etc.

The petitioners alleged that these corruptions have been taking place since the last 15 years, more particularly from the year 2010. The corruption is mostly taking place in four districts of BTC, they are Chirang, Baksa, Kokrajhar, and Udalguri.

The petitioners, Brahma and Baruah, mentioned in their PIL: "A social audit of MGNREGA in Bodoland Territorial Council ( BTC) was conducted by involving Gram Sabha, eminent persons and groups of persons. It was found that most of the works sanctioned under MGNREGA within the four districts of Bodoland Territorial Council ( BTC) had remained incomplete. The rate of completion of the works under MGNREGA is only 35.5% and job card holders get 27.5% of the wage that has been credited to their bank account".

In the last two and a half years, around 457 crore job cards were alleged to be fraudulent.

The BTC Elections are scheduled to be on December 7 and December 10.

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