Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, June 09 2009:
Due to the prevailing law and order situation and high level of extortion, no official is willing to disclose work programmes/projects being taken up or proposed to be taken up by different Departments.
The common response of Government officials to a citizen asking about the work programmes of a particular department is "We can't tell you.
Disclosing the programmes to you would only land us in trouble or mental harassment".
All officers including IAS officers working in the Secretariat and several Departments are wary of divulging any information about the existing work programmes as well as proposed programmes for fear of demands and interference from unidentified persons through telephone.
One Director said that they could work with lesser tension by not disclosing the work programmes as far as possible.
But this does not mean that the officials want to keep the work programmes unknown to the public.
They were constrained to keep the programmes under wraps as far as possible because intense pressure and mental harassment are mounted once the programmes were disclosed, he said.
Shifting of offices of some Directors to well guarded places and deployment and enhancement of security cover in most of Govt Depts was a testimony of the insecurity felt by officers.
With loopholes impairing the measures taken up by the Govt to check extortion, Govt employees were still giving certain percentage of their salaries to UG groups.
It was also an open secret that Depts have been deducting certain percentages from the amounts sanctioned for development works/schemes only to be delivered to UG groups.
Each Department has its own code language or lingo for different amounts deducted for payment to UG groups.
This is against the instruction of the Union Home Minister to check extortion prevalent in the State.
The State Govt too has decided to take up fitting legal action against those having nexus with UG groups as well as against all those doing contract works with the help of militants.