The Social Welfare Department has been strongly pulled up by the Meghalaya High Court for ‘blatant favouritism’ and favour shown to Kripa Foundation for the purpose of setting up of a Rehabilitation and De-Addiction Centre for Juveniles at Mawkasiang, Mawdiangdiang here.
Director of Social Welfare Department, Dikki D. Shira in an affidavit filed before the court has stated that the department after scrutinising the Detailed Project Report submitted by Kripa Foundation has sanctioned an amount of Rs. 1,03,70,093 to the Foundation for the purpose of setting up of a Rehabilitation and De-Addiction Centre for Juveniles at Mawkasiang, Mawdiangdiang during 2020-21.
Slamming the decision of the department, the High Court’s division bench of Chief Justice Biswanath Somadder and Justice Hamarsan Sing Thangkhiew question the department as to what basis Kripa Foundation was chosen to the exclusion of others.
“Were other organisations ever approached or considered? Was there any transparency in the manner in which Kripa Foundation was chosen? How was Kripa Foundation selected? Was there any tendering process or did the process for selection involve mass participation? If not, why not? If public money is given in favour of one particular private organisation, how can such disbursement be justified in law in the absence of transparency in the selection process?” the High Court asked.
According to the High Court, prima facie, the manner in which Kripa Foundation has been favoured by the Social Welfare Department, smacks of blatant favouritism and oblique motives.
“If this the manner in which public money is spent by the Government of Meghalaya, without having any semblance of transparency and the selection process being filled with opacity, it is indeed a sorry state of affairs,” the High Court said.
The court also directed Additional Senior Government Advocate S Sengupta representing the State government to provide the court with cogent and justifiable answers to the queries on the next hearing scheduled on February 18.
