Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, July 13 2009:
Deputy Commissioner of Chandel District Devesh Deval who is also the District Programme Co-ordinator of NREGS Chandel and the Manipur Hill Areas Farmers' Co-operative Society, Chandel Branch have strongly refuted the news report of alleged creation of bogus villages as unfounded and concocted one.
In a statement, the Deputy Commissioner clarified that the DRDA Chandel has implemented the NREGS programmes based on the 2001 Census Report and subsequent orders of the Government for recognition of additional villages from time to time.
Pointing out that the existing villages as recorded in DRDA, Chandel are 292 in Chakpikarong block, 133 in Chandel block, 110 in Tengnoupal & Moreh block, 70 in Machi block and 133 in Khengjoy block, the Deputy Commissioner said that there was an ordinate increase in the number of villages in one sub-division in 2008-09 .
Due to ethnic conflicts and security operations there was large scale migration of communities in border areas giving rise to the problem.
However, verification exercise is being carried out at resent and suitable action is proposed, the Deputy Commissioner said, adding that as such the figures appeared in the news report are wrong, baseless and the report itself is unfounded and concocted one.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference at Manipur Press Club here today, secretary of Manipur Hill Areas Farmers' Co-operative Society, Chandel Branch L Haokip asserted that there is no question of creating bogus villages in Chandel district with the intention of extracting the benefit of NRGES.
Haokip also clarified that there is no organisation called Chandel Youth Organisation in Chandel district and no one knows who is Sh Peter.
So the allegation of Sh Peter that 390 villages have been created newly under Chakpikarong block, 230 villages under Khengjoy, 50 under Moreh, 39 under Tengnoupal and 46 under Machi block is baseless and unfounded, he added.