Thursday, March 28, 2024

Meghalaya woman faces social boycott for ‘exposing’ MGNREGA graft

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Express News Service
GUWAHATI: A woman in Meghalaya alleged she was facing a social boycott in her village for “exposing” corruption in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Thrina Suchen, who hails from East Jaintia Hills, alleged that the village authorities had on November 30 last year barred the villagers from buying items from her shop and entering her house.

She said she started facing the social boycott from the time she had lodged a complaint with government authorities alleging corruption in MGNREGAimplementation.

Miffed that she did not consult the Waheh Chnong (headman) prior to filing an RTI application, the village authorities had imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on her but she refused to pay it.

Earlier, based on a complaint lodged by the woman, District Magistrate, Ethelbert Kharmalki ordered a probe into the charges. A magistrate recorded her statement on January 13.

Given what she was going through, the woman alleged she had been ostracised by the village authorities, a charge which the DM dismissed outright.

“There was no decision by the Dorbar Shnong (body of elected village leaders) to ostracise her,” the DM said, adding, “The magistrate is conducting a probe into her charges.”

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