Meghalaya: 6 petitions filed in HC over biasness in wholesale distribution

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TURA | April 04, 2019:

Six 6 petitions have been filed in the Meghalaya High Court by various persons from Garo Hills in connection with the alleged biasness in wholesale distribution.

It was informed that wholesale changes were made to the existing list of people allocated wholesale in the Dadenggre Civil Sub Division under West Garo Hills.

The petitions were made over allegations of biasness by the current NPP led government over allotment of wholesalers.

Allegations of the appointment of wholesalers by the SDO (Civil) of the sub division, occurring after the announcement of elections have also been made by the wholesalers denied contracts – in what is a clear breach of model code of conduct that is currently in place.

The issue of violation of model code of conduct by the sub division authorities was raised earlier by BJP leader, KC Boro, after it was found that a new list, allegedly chosen by the ministry, was pushed through with the help of sub division authorities.

According to the aggrieved wholesalers, initially a list of 20 wholesaler names was passed for the sub division barring the Tikrikilla and Chibinang areas. However on Mar 13, a few days after the imposition of the MCC, the entire list was changed which saw 27 out 28 new names coming through which had allegedly been hurriedly passed.   

"I have been the best wholesaler in the entire Dadenggre civil sub division and had been hopeful of getting our wholesale in Chibinang. However we were in for a surprise when we were omitted from the list despite our track record. We really want to know as to what norms were followed in the allocation of wholesale and how some people (in other's name) have been able to get so many wholesales," said Suneetha Sangma, one of the petitioners.

The fact that many old timers have been forced off the list and new entrants without any prior experience been given preference has also not gone down well with many.

"I have been a wholesaler for the past 20 years for the Chibinang area. I was assured that my name would be featured in the list and they kept asking me to come to Shillong to confirm as many as 7 times. However I was refused a contract despite 20 years of clean service. It seems the present government wants to punish people like us," said one of the old timers from Phulbari on the condition of anonymity.

The petitioners included the likes of VP Gupta, Sreenath Gupta, Sunitha Sangma among others.

"The decision made by the government is arbitrary in nature. They have made full scale changes to the list of wholesalers without even verifying if the new persons would be able to deliver as per the NFS (Act). Such full scale changes have never been seen in any state for that matter and undermines the effort required for distribution for what is an essential commodity," said Sunitha who was a wholesaler in Chibinang.

"Never in the history of the state have we seen something like this happen. Yes there have been political appointments to the extent of 40-50% but never almost 100%," said one of the petitioners.