Editor,

I wish to draw the urgent attention of the chief minister and the Government of Arunachal Pradesh to the deeply rooted systemic corruption plaguing grassroots development projects across our beloved state.

While the state government often speaks of dynamic leadership and rapid development, the ground reality paints a much darker picture.

To understand the gravity of the situation, let us consider a stark, mathematical analogy based on the constructed PMGSY road from Likabali to Durpai in Kangku circle of Lower Siang district.

Suppose the government sanctioned exactly Rs 100 for this road. The tender was floated and awarded to a massive, top-tier corporate firm. This primary firm immediately skims off its commission and hands the work to a secondary subcontractor. This second entity takes its own substantial cut and further subcontracts the project to a local individual – let’s call him ‘Johny Innocence’ – who happens to be a worker for the local political representative.

By the time the project reaches Johny, the funds are already heavily depleted. Yet, Johny must still execute the work. To do so, he is allegedly forced to pay a flat 15% kickback to the officials of the department concerned, deduct 18% for GST, and still somehow manage to squeeze out his own profit margin.

I urge the government and the citizens to ask themselves: Out of the initial Rs 100 sanctioned for the public, how many rupees actually went into laying the road? Rs 20? Rs 10? How can any infrastructure survive when it is built with only a fraction of its intended budget?

Unfortunately, this chain of sub-contracting and kickbacks is not limited to road construction. In sectors like the Public Health Engineering and Electrical Departments, a disturbing trend has become the norm: contractors are frequently forced to procure materials directly from the department at rates astronomically higher than the open market price.

Under the current administration’s watch, the government is either turning a blind eye to this blatant daylight robbery, or worse, stakeholders within the system are happily taking their shares. At this tragic pace, even if the Centre pumps Rs 100 billion into Arunachal Pradesh, the state will remain underdeveloped, and the funds will evaporate into the pockets of a few middlemen.

I appeal to the chief minister to implement stringent, uncompromising anti-corruption laws and establish robust monitoring mechanisms for all state and centrally-sponsored schemes. It is time to dismantle this ‘commission raj’.

We may manipulate ledgers and fool the public temporarily, but no one can escape the ultimate law of karma. For the sake of Arunachal’s future, please clean up this system before the state’s infrastructure collapses under the weight of its own corruption.

Musa Bhai