To,
The Editor
Eastern Mirror
Dimapur, Nagaland.
Concerns over the acute discrepancies in the Annual Action Plans (AAP) for development of infrastructures submitted by the State’s Department of Justice and Law to the Government of India.
Coming across the report of the Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) of India on general, economic and revenue sectors for the year ending March 31st 2019, and while pondering upon the presentation of our Hon’ble Chief Minister in the recently concluded session of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly, revealing that against a proposal of funds worth Rs.173.02 Crores for 59 projects in the AAPs, the state received total funds of Rs.70.05 Crores (including state share) out of which Rs.61.40 crore were spent on program implementation whereby 13 projects (Four Courts and Nine Housing units) were completed during the period 2014-19, several inescapable statistics have been brought to light deserving compelling questions about the efficacy of the concerned department in the implementation of the projects in letter and spirit.
The Judiciary in Nagaland has slowly but surely made progress over the past few decades, but the apparent discrepancies and corrupt practices of the Department of Justice and Law, Nagaland in the actual implementation of the development of infrastructures as highlighted in the CAG’s report is nothing short of large scale corruption, inefficiency and gross misappropriation of crores of rupees of funds meant for infrastructure development by the department concerned, and the same requires serious consideration and prompt necessary action to ensure that the basic infrastructure development such as Court buildings are not compromised at any cost.
It is explicitly understood as a laymen and a concerned citizen that for any civilised democratic society to attain its full potentials, the health of the judiciary, judicial system and its institutions are vital. These temples of justice are paramount in guaranteeing a golden balance in preserving the core essence of our democratic society, and so, any discrepancy in the development of infrastructure of our Courts entails adverse and severe repercussions for every citizen and our society at large. Being so, the reported anomalies and large scale discrepancies are alarming and must not be neglected but the same has to be pursued for the larger interest of all.
Without doubt, the apparent negligence and failure of the Department of Justice and Law, Nagaland in the implementation of infrastructure development is derailing the entire justice delivery system in our state and any concerned citizen must be wary of the alarming state of affairs. Needless to say, that even after five decades of attaining statehood, Nagaland is yet to have its own separate High Court and due to the apparent failures of the concerned Government Department to implement the basic and essential infrastructure development, we have been lagging far behind most of the other North-Eastern states in terms of judicial infrastructure. More unfortunately, as our long aspirations of having a separate High Court has been in the pipeline, the development of its essential infrastructure has been severely impeded by the charges of gross misappropriation of funds and corruption which has gripped the entire construction/completion of the New High Court complex in our state’s capital Kohima, resulting in the pending CBI Investigation/case.
These alarming state of affairs and prevailing conditions has prompted this outcry to every responsible citizen of our state that the very foundations of our judicial system is being ripped apart mindlessly by gross misappropriation and corrupt practices by the concerned Government Department, threatening our judicial institutions with far reaching consequences and creating huge obstacles in delivering justice to our people. Now, with some hope, it is a fervent appeal through this humble write up/article seeking to garner the much needed action from the legal fraternity, the Bar, Bench and the Hon’ble Court/Courts having appropriate jurisdiction to deliver our people from the glaring injustice and make the responsible answerable.
(LINO CHISHI)
Toluvi Village, Dimapur
anarlily@gmail.com
