Guwahati: Flood-hit residents of Sivasagar, Assam’s worst-affected district, protest outside the district commissioner’s office on Saturday, alleging irregularities and political bias in distribution of the state govt’s Rs 15,000 assistance to affected families.Led by Raijor Dal activists, the protesters alleged that several people, unaffected by the floods, had received aid while genuine victims were excluded. They also accused some BJP leaders of influencing the beneficiary lists. Members of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) joined the demonstration.“Only Rs 15,000 has been given! There too, injustice and unfairness prevail — all victims have not received it, only selected people have. There is no proper evaluation, only injustice,” Raijor Dal president and Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi said.Akhil has demanded Rs 10 lakh for every flood-affected family, against the Rs 15,000 currently being provided by the state govt.“The problem is that if someone’s name is not included in that beneficiary list of Rs 15,000, they will not receive any compensation in the future. They will not even be considered as flood victims. Raijor Dal will not accept this injustice,” Akhil said.KMSS general secretary Bidyut Saikia urged the govt to disclose names of those who had prepared the beneficiary lists.“There should be an inquiry and find out who all are responsible for entering the names of people in the lists who were not affected by floods,” Saikia said, questioning the role of some BJP leaders and administrative officials.In a memorandum submitted to the district commissioner, Raijor Dal alleged several inconsistencies in the lists, claiming that some ward members and others had deliberately excluded genuine victims to benefit their associates and relatives.The party urged the district administration to bring all eligible families omitted during the survey under the one-time assistance scheme. It also sought time-bound disciplinary action against officials, govt teachers, gaon pradhans and others accused of misconduct and dereliction of duty.Responding to Raijor Dal’s allegations, Minister Bhupen Borah said some people had provided multiple bank account details during the beneficiary survey conducted. He said the list was prepared by teachers based on information provided by residents from areas which were hard to reach.Borah said any excess payment made to multiple beneficiaries from the same family will be recovered, while acknowledging the possibility of “human error” or false claims by people posing as flood victims.
