The Dorbar Shnong of Dombhoi village, near Sohiong in East Khasi Hills, has rejected claims of corruption in the construction of a 1.4 kilometre road there.
There were recent reports that the Dorbar Shnong authorities had fraudulently misappropriated funds for the construction of the said road. An RTI was filed in this matter and the Sordar of the area resigned from his post after claiming that the Dorbar forced him to sign a no-objection certificate (NOC).
The project was sanctioned at a cost of Rs 95 lakh under a scheme of the central government. Work began early this year but had to stop due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Dombhoi Secretary Weekstar Malngiang said today. Upon restarting work, the Block Development Officer informed the Dorbar that the NOC for construction of the road had been misplaced.
Some members of the Dorbar’s executive committee were in favour of issuing a new one, but there were others who were opposed. Nevertheless, after meetings among the villagers and with the BDO, the committee decided on issuing the new NOC.
“It saddens us to see that the Sordar’s statement that he was forced to sign the no objection certificate. This is wrong as we never forced him to sign,” Malgniang said, adding that the Sordar’s resignation could be down to other reasons as well.
He also criticised the people who filed the RTI without first asking for an explanation from the executive committee of the Dorbar.
Jamwest Nongrang, one of those who filed the RTI, clarified that after he dug deep into the matter it came to light that the executive committee had identified additional roads falling along the route of the original scheme so that the sanctioned funds can be fully utilised.
Meanwhile, Malngiang said the Dorbar would take action against the RTI applicants who alleged corruption on the part of the Dorbar if they could not prove their claims.
