Arunachal: JACPMKSY allege misuse of Rs 400 cr, demands urgent investigation and action

The committee alleges that a significant amount of Rs. 103.40 crores was mismanaged and transferred to private accounts illegally

Reported by Marina Dai

The Joint Action Committee for Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (JACPMKSY) has accused the Rural Development (RD) department in Arunachal Pradesh of misusing PMKSY funds. The committee claimed that norms for executing schemes have been violated, leading to the misappropriation of a staggering Rs. 408.56 crores.

Speaking to Northeast Live, the Chairmen of the Joint Action Committee for PMKSY, Maji Tayum said “60 MLAs, Ministers from Arunachal Pradesh submitted proposals for 66 Watershed Development Component-Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC-PMKSY) 2.0 projects covering 145,915 hectares of land.
The total cost of these projects is Rs. 408.56 crores, shared by the central and state governments. Administrative approval for the projects was granted on January 30, and funds of Rs. 162.64 crores was released on various dates”.

The committee alleged that a significant amount of Rs. 103.40 crores were mismanaged and transferred to private accounts illegally.

Despite the funds released, there is no evidence of any WDC-PMKSY 2.0 projects being implemented in Arunachal Pradesh.
The committee claimed that the funds were siphoned off through the PFMS mode into the accounts of different firms and individuals.

FIRs were filed in August and November this year but there is no update on the investigation’s outcome.

The Joint Committee has demanded the following actions:

• Approval and direction for the registration and investigation of FIRs dated 21/08/2023 & 23/11/2023 filed by the PMKSY scam joint action committee.
• Suspension and departmental enquiry against the regional director (RD)-cum-CEO, SLNA, and the joint director (RD)-cum-Joint CEO, rural development department, Itanagar for illegal fund transfers.
• Suspension and departmental enquiry against the block development officers/project directors involved in the WDC-PMKSY projects scam.
• Blacklisting of all firms where WDC-PMKSY projects funds were transferred.
• The immediate stoppage of further sanction and release/payment of WDC-PMKSY project funds until the FIRs dated 23/11/2023 & 21/08/2023 are resolved or the projects are implemented as per guidelines.
The committee urged authorities to take swift action to address these serious allegations of financial irregularities in the implementation of PMKSY schemes in Arunachal Pradesh.

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