The BJP district unit of eastern Assam’s Jorhat has come under line of fire from the district All Assam Students’ Union.
Reason for the ire is a letter written by the Jorhat BJP unit to the chairman of Jorhat Municipal Board listing the names of a few dozen contractors to be awarded contracts for certain road and drain works.
Rs 9.96 crore has been sanctioned for the road and drain works in 19 wards under SOPD.
The letter has been signed by the BJP district unit president Kamakhya Mohan Das and general secretary Iswar Prasanna Bordoloi.
Also read: Jorhat Municipal Board fails to complete parking project, AASU seeks probe
Arjunmoni Bhuyan and Partha Pratim Borah, president and general secretary respectively of Jorhat AASU unit in a press communique stated that it is a matter of shame that the BJP is promoting its own party workers and supporters in a bid to retain power.
Alleging that the present Jorhat Municipal Board members, majority of whom belong to BJP, are mired in controversy and corruption instead of solving the pressing issues of the city.
They have alleged the board hs failed to solve issues like traffic congestion and dumping of garbage in the Bhogdoi river banks, thereby polluting the river.
The students’ body now alleged that the board is only interested in promoting their own cadres.
Bijoy Shankar Bordoloi said that the ‘useless’ JMB was issuing licences to KFC and the under construction Gold cinema, both of which did not have parking places, thus compounding traffic congestion.
“The chairman of JMB told us that KFC was a shop and that he was unaware that it was an eatery of such magnitude where about 500 to 700 people were visiting daily,” Bordoloi said.
The communique further alleged that this was a means by the leaders to get commission given that the Board elections were round the corner and Assembly elections slated for next year.
The AASU alleged that each ward commissioner was given eight per cent by the contractor from amount allotted and the chairman got two per cent from each.
When contacted Kamakhya Mohan Das said the letter had been issued by them and that they had a right to request the chairman to allot the work to their own party contractors if they fulfilled the norms.
“We have written this letter listing the names of the contractors and which should be given which work in which ward as this is our government and we should promote our men,” Das said.
He further added that there were about 126 works and that the contractors listed should be given the work if they fulfilled all the criteria after tendering process was over.