No court has stopped scheme for yarn and blanket: Hussain

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Feb 3: State Panchayat and Rural Development (P & RD) Minister Rakibul Hussain still sticks to his guns that no court has stopped the scheme meant for the distribution of yarn and blanket.

This reiteration from the P & RD Minister came close on the heels of State BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma, without ming Hussain, said yesterday that ‘a Cabinet minister of the State was bending the truth in favour of the Congress Government on the recent order issued by the Supreme Court of India, stopping the immediate distribution of benefits of as many as six schemes’.  Talking to newsmen in the city today, Hussain said: “There are cases against eight schemes under the Chief Minister’s Special Package, and of them two schemes were cleared of. In the remaining six schemes, the Gauhati High Court has some objections on criteria for selection of beneficiaries and publicity. We will implement the schemes the way the high court wants.”

“The Supreme Court has no objection to the lists of beneficiaries that were prepared before December 31, 2015. The lists of 22 districts were prepared before December 31, 2015, and as such there’s no hurdle in implementing the schemes in the 22 districts. In the remaining districts, we’ve asked the authorities concerned to get clearance from the high court and go ahead with the schemes as the court wants,” Hussain said, and added: “However, some people, including the BJP, have been raising the issue by bending the truth. They are out to create a panicky among the officers while implementing the schemes. They do this for political mileage. Dispur wants to help the poor, but the BJP wants to deprive them of the benefits meant for them.”

Meanwhile, the minister informed the media of an achievement by a panchayat of the State. “There’re 2.40 lakh panchayats in the country. The Centre selects ten best panchayats from the 2.40 lakh of them every year and rewards them. This year, the Khetri Gaon Panchayat has made it to the 10 best panchayats in the country,” Hussain said.

On MGNREGA funds to the State, Hussain said: “In fiscal 2015-16 we’ve submitted all utilization certificates to the Centre that, however, is yet to release the remaining installments. This is not all. The Centre has cut as many as 60,000 Indira Awas Yoja (IAY) houses in the State from our earlier allotment.”

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