Aizawl, Aug 28 : Anti-corruption watchdog 'Prism' today claimed to have unearthed a scam in the compensation for landowners displaced due to construction of ONGC-funded Meidum-Hortoki road in Kolasib district.
Talking to reporters after filing an FIR with the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) here, Prism president Vanlalruata said, ''At least 70 per cent of the total amount of compensation has been apparently misappropriated.''
A total of Rs 311,40,920 had been given to 202 landowners, of which 53 were either fictitious persons, he charged.
''We have proof that Rs 107,90,360 have been received under fictitious names or with fake land deeds. We suspect that about the same amount of money have also been suspectedly misappropriated,'' Prism president added.
Seven of 202 compensation claimants, recorded to be residents of Kolasib's Project Veng (who received a total of Rs 21,55,669), were found to be non-existent, while a local forum organized by Mizoram People's Forum also discovered that 19 land deeds (issued by village council of Hortoki) were forged, he said adding Rs 51,36,441 was disbursed under these 19 fake land passes.
Real Land Owners' Association of Meidum-Hortoki also alleged that 32 people received compensation without actually owning a piece of land, while five people were given double compensation for a single land.
The compensation was disbursed recently from the office of Kolasib district Deputy Commissioner.
Initially, the DC had allegedly proposed 277 landowners for the compensation, but later he reduced the number to 201 after objection from the Real Land Owners' Association of Meidum-Hortoki.
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