Arunachal DDUGJY scam: Court sets deadline of four weeks for submission of affidavit by power department

Making observations on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the Gauhati High Court – Itanagar Bench, pertaining to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojna (DDUGJY) Rs 142 crore scam allegations, the court issued notice to the Department of Power and other ten officials to submit their affidavit within four weeks.

The PIL urged the Bench of Judges headed by Justice SK Medhi and Justice Kakheto Sema to register a criminal case as well as a judicial inquiry on the mismanagement of funds meant for project under the DDUGJY pertaining to three districts – West Kameng, Tawang and Namsai worth Rs 142.74 crore.

Advocate Mehmood Pracha, appearing on behalf the PIL petitioner claimed that the tender process was allotted without following due process of law wherein recourse to forgery and other illegal means were adopted.  Pracha also alleged that the entire concept of a fair competition was minimized and the work was allotted to favoured parties.

The court listed the case for hearing on July 25 and again a new date was given on August 9 now which has been postponed to September 14 for the next hearing on the case.

Arunachal Against Corruption (AAC), an NGO, accused Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu of being involved in the multi-crore scams pertaining to the Rs 142 crore worth DDUGJY project, Rs 68 crore Sampoorna Grameen Rojgar Yojana (SGRY) project, Rs 889 crore worth Panchayat Raj work, Rs 32 crore project for the Department of mining and minerals, Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) fund worth Rs 588.40 crore, Hydropower projects worth Rs 14000 crore along with Rs 820 crore liabilities.

Tarh Tahar, President of AAC, while talking to the media, claimed that PILs had been admitted in Gauhati High Court and the Supreme Court respectively, pertaining to corruption cases under Khandu regime, indicating huge mismanagement of public money by the state BJP government.

Squashing all charges, Chief Minister Pema Khandu asserted that it is an attempt to malign his image as well as the government. “It is a conspiracy to defame my government. After BJP came to power in Arunachal Pradesh, we have zero tolerance for corruption. All the work was done as per government norms. All the work has been completed,” he said. “The matter is subjudice,” the CM further added.