TMC lobs graft barb at Morcha civic body

Gurung at Bagdogra on Tuesday. (Passang Yolmo)

Vivek Chhetri and Avijit Sinha, TT, April 11: The Trinamul Congress has started going all out against the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha ahead of civic polls in the hills, with the ruling party demanding that the Darjeeling municipality administrator lodge an FIR against the previous board for alleged corruption in a housing scheme.

N.B. Khawash, the working president of Trinamul (hills), said the municipality hadn't provided the entire funds for houses built under the Integrated Housing Slum Development Project.

"Under the housing scheme for slum dwellers, we have found out that 890 houses were sanctioned and 590 of them have been completed so far. We made a physical verification of some of the houses and have found that while some beneficiaries have not received funds, others have got only a portion of the funds allotted to them."

Under the scheme, a beneficiary has to chip in Rs 21,456, while the civic body would contribute Rs 1.1 lakh.

Amar Rai, former chairman of the civic board said: "The project was started by the previous board but it was during our tenure that most of the houses were built. I do not have the details readily available. Apart from the civic board, the municipal engineering directorate based in Siliguri would also verify the details of the project before releasing funds, which were in parts."

Morcha chief Bimal Gurung today said he had told an NDA meeting in Delhi yesterday that the separate state of Gorkhaland was the principal demand of the hill party.

"At the meeting, we have raised our principal issue, that is the separate state of Gorkhaland. We also reminded the BJP leaders about its election manifesto (of 2014 Parliament polls). It was good to be at the meeting and we hope the BJP leaders will mull over it," said Gurung, who arrived at Bagdogra airport this afternoon.