Congress rocks House on graft cases

Raipur, December 19, 2011

The Congress on Monday rocked the House on graft cases in different departments during the discussion on its no confidence motion on third day of the Vidhan Sabha’s winter session. The opposition MLA Tamradhwaj Sahu alleged that large number of irregularities prevailed in Education Department. “Every year, huge fund is being released for this department but it fails to bring anticipated results,” Sahu charged.

“How will the students of government schools get benefitted by the free books and dress materials distributed in the middle of the academic session? The government should clarify its intentions regarding delay in book and dress distribution. Further, the distributing agency provides poor quality of dress to the students. A sizable chunk of fund is being misappropriated on the name of books and dress,” he said.

He alleged that the bicycles purchased by the government under its Saraswati Cycle scheme were expensive and of inferior quality. “Even the scholarships in different categories amounting Rs eight crore had not been given to students in past three years,” he said.

He said the meals provided to the students under Centre’s mid-day meal programme were substandard while construction works of several government school buildings could be completed even in two-three years. “How can you give education to the students in this scenario? The schools do not even have adequate teaching staffers. Many of the schools are being operated by the peons,” he said.

Sahu further pointed that majority of the government schools lacked facilities of computer room as well as laboratories. “These schools do not even have classrooms then how can you expect that there would be computer rooms there. You can find computers dumped in store rooms of these schools. Similar is the condition of laboratories. The list of equipment sent to the schools never match with the stipulated list,” he said.

Indicating towards government’s decision to centralise furniture purchase for schools, Sahu asked whether the state administration lost trust on the local officials or it had ulterior motives behind such move.

The Congress legislator Paresh Baghbahra said the opposition moved no confidence motion because people of the Chhattisgarh had lost faith on it. “In case of effective Right to Recall, none of the BJP legislators would have remained in the House,” Baghbahra said.

Another Congress MLA Agni Chandrakar asked whether the government had given additional powers or rights to the Collectors to sell the lands. He pointed that large tract of government as well as tribal lands were sold on Collector’s permission in his legislative constituency and other parts of the state. “The government should rather have a separate Property Dealing Department through which it can sell all the lands to the industrialists and businessmen,” he suggested.