Opposition parties tore into the Trinamul government after a police officer-in-charge in Murshidabad district said “cut money” was eating into development projects.
Burwan police officer-incharge Sandip Sen made the comment while inaugurating a Kali Puja on Wednesday.
He had spoken in detail about the percentages in which cut money was collected from contractors and added this was affecting the quality of work.
Parties opposed to Trinamul said what the police officer had said was an endorsement of their charges of corruption against the Mamata Banerjee government. Sources said the government has taken serious note of Sen’s comment and superintendent of police, Murshidabad, K. Sabari Rajkumar, issued him a showcause notice.
On Thursday, Sen replied to the showcause and attached to his reply a complaint from residents of Sahora ruing the “pitiful” deterioration of a road there that had been completed only a month prior. “To build a new road... a contractor usually aims for a 40 per cent margin at best. Thereafter, he expects to pocket a further 20 per cent himself. The BDO gets four per cent, the OC five, and others still get five. Meaning nearly 75 per cent of the call money will become cut money, so one can only imagine the quality of finished projects,” Sen had said at the Wednesday event.
Both Sen and Rajkumar declined comments.
Congress leader and Behrampore MP Adhir Chowdhury lauded Sen’s actions, noting on the same hand that Sen was “known to work in Trinamul’s best interests”.
“I am glad he spoke the truth no matter the circumstances. We all know the chief minister’s unspoken motto: that spoils will be shared among various arms of the party. His comments only lend further support to that,” said Chowdhury.
CPM district secretary Jamir Mollah touted “cut money” as a Trinamul “contribution” and lent his support to Sen’s comments.
BJP MLA Gouri Shankar Ghosh offered credence to Sen’s 75 per cent theory.
“This figure is nothing new. It is what the Trinamul refers to as its development fund.”
Trinamul district president Shaoni Singha Roy declined to comment, saying the matter was an “administrative one” and not related to the party
