HT Correspondent
MARGHERITA, July 31: The Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association (ATTSA), Margherita Branch Committee, has uncovered a significant financial irregularity at Powai Tea Estate under the Margherita sub-division of Tinsukia district. On Tuesday, they submitted a memorandum to state Power minister Nandita Gorlosa through the Margherita sub-divisional officer (civil), highlighting a Rs 29 lakh scam involving electricity bill payments.
Jayanta Parmanik, who claimed to be an agent of the estate, is accused of misappropriating funds meant for the electricity bills of tea garden workers. Years ago, Parmanik was appointed by the garden management and the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS) Powai unit, under the supervision of the former sub-divisional engineer (SDE) of APDCL, to collect electricity bill payments deducted from workers’ wages. The issue came to light when the new SDE discovered that nearly Rs 30 lakh in electricity bills for 2022-2023 remained unpaid. The pending amount is expected to increase if investigations extend from 2017 to the present.
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Rohit Deep, president (i/c) of ATTSA Margherita Branch Committee, emphasised that Rs 29 lakh is a substantial amount, especially for tea workers who earn modest wages. He suggested that Parmanik might be a minor player in a larger conspiracy.
Pranjal Baraik, joint publicity secretary of ATTSA State Committee, criticised APDCL and the garden management for appointing an unauthorised individual to handle such a significant amount of money. Baraik questioned why the garden management allowed the entire deducted electricity bill amount to be handed over to Parmanik, rather than issuing checks directly to APDCL.
Baraik also condemned the police administration, noting that despite an FIR being lodged against Parmanik by the Powai Tea Estate consumers, no arrest has been made. He suggested that the garden management should also be investigated for failing to secure the workers’ deducted wages and for not filing an FIR against Parmanik, raising suspicions of their involvement.
ATTSA Margherita Branch Committee submitted a memorandum to state Power minister Nandita Gorlosa, through the sub-divisional officer (civil), Margherita, demanding a high-level inquiry and the Minister’s intervention in the matter. They also requested appropriate measures to recover the deducted amounts and to punish those responsible.
