Political Controversy Erupts Over Gorukhuti Agriculture Project
Political Fallout from Gorukhuti Project
Guwahati, June 29: The Gorukhuti Multipurpose Agriculture Project has sparked significant political controversy, with Gaurav Gogoi, the State Congress president, calling for an investigation into alleged misconduct. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has asserted that only 'unwell' Gir cows were sold to certain legislators after project supervisors indicated they could not care for them.
Concerns have been raised regarding potential irregularities, including claims of falsified transportation and the sale of Gir cows imported from Gujarat to legislators. This project was initially intended to foster agricultural growth and self-sufficiency across 77,000 bighas of land that had been cleared of encroachments in Sipajhar.
In response to a Right to Information (RTI) request from journalist Dilip Nath, the Gorukhuti society revealed that out of 300 Gir cows provided by NDDB-NDS, 210 were allocated to the Gorukhuti project, while the remaining 90 were distributed to farmers by public officials due to insufficient infrastructure at the project site. According to the society, 56 of the 210 cows have died, and 154 were returned, raising questions about the current number of cows at the project.
Among the distributed cows, the GMDA vice chairman, the Mangaldai MP, and the Kamalpur MLA each received two, while the Jonai MLA took ten, the Gohpur MLA four, and JMB Aqua Agro Limited acquired twenty. Documentation indicates that these cows were purchased for Rs 66,000 each.
Chief Minister Sarma stated on Saturday that the government faced a dilemma as the cows were in poor health, leading the MLAs to volunteer to purchase them.
In a separate development, Gaurav Gogoi has reached out to the Prime Minister, requesting an inquiry into the government-backed initiative 'Assistance to Entrepreneur for Establishment of Commercial Dairy Farming (2022-23)'.
Gogoi emphasized that funded by taxpayer money and aimed at community benefit, the Gorukhuti project involved the acquisition of high-yield Gir cows from Gujarat. He pointed out that official records show these cows were allocated to various elected officials, suggesting a misallocation of resources and livestock under a project that received over Rs 25.5 crore in public funding. This undermines the goals of government programs designed to promote inclusive development. He warned that if politically connected individuals are permitted to exploit benefits intended for the underprivileged, it could alienate the very communities these initiatives aim to support.
Additionally, Gogoi criticized the chief minister for justifying the inclusion of ministers' family members in the list of beneficiaries of the dairy scheme.