Long tenure of Muncipalty staff might lead to corruptions

DIGBOI: "I have already written a letter to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal earlier for considering the matter of transfer and postings of the permanent municipalities staffs of the State in the Cabinet meeting for the overall smooth and effective administration of the civic bodies," said Digboi BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) MLA Suren Phukan.

The incumbent MLA was interacting with The Sentinel here on Sunday afternoon at his residence wherein his opinion was sought in regard to the ongoing alleged malpractices and financial anomalies including red-tapism within the Digboi Municipal Board.

Phukan expressed that unless the transfer of the said staffs gets passed in the State Cabinet, there is hardly any scope to check and counter the alleged malpractices and anomalies in the functioning of various departments of the civic body.

While the State has been struggling for basic civic amenities allegedly due to the apathy of civic officials, a well-defined transfer policy has been sought for the civic staff by stakeholders on the lines of the transfers of IAS, IPS, and other revenue department officials, said the MLA.

"Those employees including the accountants and the Junior Engineers working in the same category of the municipalities across the State for more than the desirable terms lead to massive corruptions affecting the developmental works of the jurisdiction adversely," the MLA opined.

Sunindra Rongrang the accountant of Digboi Municipal Board is no exception here, said the MLA. "Inquiry and investigations into the assets and liabilities of the 'fatty' employees in the question might be initiated if complaints are pouring in," Phukan stated when asked about the misrule, anomalies, malpractices, and the dictatorship of a few within the civic body as alleged by a group of ward commissioners themselves over a period of time. "For the sake of transparency, constant financial and accounts audit might be initiated to ascertain whether or not the funds were judiciously and genuinely utilized for the public-oriented services," he stressed.

It is pertinent to add here that the Digboi Municipal Board has been dissolved following the expiry of its term in March 2020 after which the administration of the civic body was put under the direct disposal of the Magistrate under the SDO (Civil) Margherita. Several allegations were brought in by the ward commissioners and the people of the township over a period of time against the DMB.

Awarding the civil and construction works without tender, purchase of gadgets and vehicles at higher prices, an exorbitant tax levied upon in the markets by the lessee, withholding the monthly remunerations of the ward commissioners for more than a year. The act of forgery, the arbitrary and unwarranted imposition, and enhancement of holding tax at an abnormally higher rate are some of the allegations often brought into recently either by ward commissioners or by contractors but the scenario remains unchanged and reformations became a distant cry.

The ignorance of the financial administration of the Digboi Municipal Board and the helplessness thus expressed by the SDO (Civil) Margherita recently during an interaction with The Sentinel earlier on 19th last at his office, bears testimony of the fact that 'all is not well with the DMB.

Meanwhile, Madhujya Borgohain who took the additional charge of the DMB from his predecessor Abhijit Gogoi in the month on June, 2020 would attend a meeting of the Urban Development Department slated on September 28, 2020 at the PWD Conventional hall at Last Gate in Dispur.

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