SHILLONG:
Cabinet Minister Paul Lyngdoh, on June 7, said that the enquiry report on the 2021 rice scam is ready, and all allegations on the alleged ICDS scam are baseless.
Speaking to media persons in the city, Lyngdoh said, “There is no iota of truth in any of the allegations. That is the view that has been put up before the AG of the state and he was clear and lucid in his observation. Therefore, the case cannot be regarded as a scam.”
Lyngdoh, who is also minister in-charge of the Social Welfare Department, informed that the case was delayed because of lack of coordination with the Assam police where the scam had reportedly taken place.
“In future there must be a timeline for enquiries, so that parties who have been alleged to be part of such scams and the department are not dragged into needless controversies,” he said.
Notably, an independent enquiry committee was formed to look into the alleged illegalities that had surfaced in June 2021, when the Assam police had claimed to have seized 1 lakh bags of rice from a private godown in Kamrup district.
The rice bags were reportedly meant for the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme of the Social Welfare Department, Government of Meghalaya.