Former Cong leader accuses Arunachal govt of fund embezzlement

Expelled Congress MLA Kalikho Pul today alleged embezzlement of central funds to the tune of Rs 299.32 crore by the Arunachal Pradesh government under relief and rehabilitation programmes in the past four years.
Presenting records obtained through RTI, the former state finance minister alleged the state government had received an amount of Rs 519.13 crore from the Centre under National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) from 2011-12 to 2014-2015, out of which an amount of Rs 292.32 crore was siphoned off.
"The state government has been fooling the people by deliberately misleading them about the actual financial position of the state by presenting fictitious and delusive picture, besides playing political game of concealment," the MLA from Hayuliang told reporters here.

He said during 2011-12, the Centre had allocated funds to the tune of Rs 34.72 crore under the SDRF, during 2012-13 an amount of Rs 100.44 crore under NDRF and 34.46 crore under SDRF, in 2013-14 an amount of 140.46 crore under the NDRF and Rs 39.29 crore under the SDRF was released, while in 2014-15 an amount of Rs 125.96 crore was release under the NDRF and Rs 42.20 crore under the SDRF respectively.
"The state government needs to come clean and explain where the remaining amount received from the Centre have been spent with district-wise and project-wise details of works," he demanded.

Pul alleged the funds were spent not on need basis and no fixed criteria or modalities for distribution of funds to the disaster prone districts exist, adding the state government preferred the least disaster-prone districts at the cost of the most affected ones from the required funding for relief and rehabilitation programmes.

"In a democracy, the state government is answerable to the people on utilisation of public funds," he said.
Responding to a question on why he had not raised the issue before his expulsion, Pul said on several occasions he raised the issue in the CLP meeting and even on floor of the Assembly.

"I was dropped from the ministry on December 24 last and subsequently expelled from the party because of my outspoken nature, which might hurt some of the senior party leaders including Chief Minister Nabam Tuki," he said.
Pul, one of the senior most MLAs in the state representing Hayuliang constituency since 1995, was expelled from the Congress on April 1 for alleged anti-party activities.
On April 4, state government spokesman Bamang Felix clarified all the charges of Pul and admitted the state was facing an accumulated deficit of Rs 4486.74 crore in the last ten years.