BJP today alleged that there has been a "systematic swindling" of public money in the northeast in 2010 and claimed that a whopping Rs 4,63,000 crore was either looted or siphoned off from the states' exchequers.
"Systematic swindling of public money in the state exchequer, embezzlement, fraud and rampant corruption by politicians in power and officials have been witnessed in all these states-- (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim)," Somaiya said, while presenting a report of the BJP fact finding committee before reporters here.
BJP National President Nitin Gadkari had appointed a three-member committee, which included Somaiya, to probe into various alleged scams in the northeast.
He said perusing records of CAG, Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and interaction with various quarters, the BJP committee had found that embezzlement, misappropriation and frauds had become a culture of the ruling party in the northeast.
Alleging that government money meant for development and poverty alleviation was looted, the senior BJP leader said, "Data for 50 different scams was collected with the loot in hydropower scam going beyond Rs four lakh crore and corruption as well as kickbacks running into 20,000 crore.
He said the scams in Assam, Manipur, Arunachal, Sikkim, Nagaland and Mizoram amount to Rs 43,000 crore. "Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) and Food for Work meant for the poor and below poverty line (BPL) people do not reach them but is misappropriated by ministers and their family members," Somaiya said.
{{/usCountry}}He said the scams in Assam, Manipur, Arunachal, Sikkim, Nagaland and Mizoram amount to Rs 43,000 crore. "Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) and Food for Work meant for the poor and below poverty line (BPL) people do not reach them but is misappropriated by ministers and their family members," Somaiya said.
{{/usCountry}}In almost all these states rice meant for distribution to the poor does not reach the state but via Assam goes straight to Bangladesh. Simultaneously, transportation charges and subsidies are claimed in hundreds of crores and pocketed by transport contractors who are the ministers' family members, he said.
The BJP leader also attacked the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government, referring to the CAG report, which found "serious discrepancy in the state budget with an excess fund of over Rs 200 crore released to the N C Hills was an indicator of corruption in the state". Referring to Arunachal Pradesh, he said, "The state has become a soft target for scamsters, including chief ministers, with the hydro power scam involving Arunachal and the Centre being one of the biggest scams of the region.
"A total of 137 hydro projects extending up to 70,000 MW were signed in non-transparent and suspicious manner while projects worth crores were signed in a short period by allotment to non-existing or just formed companies," Somaiya added.