| Staff REPORTER |
ITANAGAR, Oct 27: Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe Forum (APSTF) president Tai Shiva has asserted that he will not withdraw his claim regarding Sawant Riang being a non-APST, despite being served a 24-hour ultimatum by the Ato Riang Tagio Society (ARTS) to either prove or take back his statement.
Addressing reporters at the Arunachal Press Club here today, Shiva clarified that the APSTF has issued notices to a total of 94 individuals suspected of possessing APST certificates fraudulently. He maintained that neither he nor the Forum harbors any personal grudge against Riang.
“If he can clarify and prove himself to be an APST and not an offspring of a non-APST father and an APST mother, we are ready to apologise and face any consequence,” Shiva stated.
He further claimed that the apology letter he issued on July 4 in connection with the same matter, as mentioned by ARTS, was made under duress.
Meanwhile, Shiva informed that several members of the APSTF have filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the Gauhati High Court Itanagar Permanent Bench regarding the alleged misuse of public funds under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).
“The court has accepted the petition and directed the Vigilance Department of the Arunachal Pradesh government to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the allegations,” Shiva said.
According to him, the state government had proposed 66 projects under PMKSY, requiring the acquisition of 14,915 hectares of land at an estimated cost of Rs 408.56 crore, and the Central Government sanctioned Rs 36,770.58 lakh accordingly.
“However, no work has been executed on the ground. When we sought information through RTI, the authorities failed to provide proper documents. Some districts even denied receiving any funds under the project, whereas the records of the Rural Development Department show that funds were distributed,” he alleged.