Hotel Built on Orphanage Funds? PAC Probe Sought Into Dima Hasao Welfare Scam

A building meant to shelter orphaned and destitute children in Assam’s Dima Hasao district — constructed with nearly Rs 3 crore of public money and inaugurated by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in 2021 — has allegedly been converted into a luxury hotel, triggering fresh outrage and renewed calls for accountability.

The revelation, first reported by Pratidin Time, had already caused a stir across the hill district. Now, the issue has escalated, with former MLA and ex-Chief Executive Member of the N.C. Hills Autonomous Council, Samarjit Hafiongbar, and former MAC Daniel Langthasa formally petitioning the Chairman of the Assam Legislative Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), urging an immediate inquiry into what they describe as a “financial crime” and a “betrayal of public trust.”

The facility in question, located at Boro Haflong near Jatinga — just 6 km from Haflong town — was officially inaugurated as a Home for Orphans and Destitute Children under a central welfare scheme. The complex included a two-storey shelter home, a three-storey vocational training centre, staff quarters, a principal’s residence, and a medical inspection room.

According to Langthasa, the project was sanctioned on June 29, 2013, under the Congress-led government as part of the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) scheme for the year 2009–10. Of the total Rs 2.98 crore budget, Rs 268.63 lakh came from the Centre and Rs 29.85 lakh from the State. The construction was executed by the PWD (Buildings) Department and was officially handed over to the Social Welfare Department on May 13, 2021.

Two months later, on July 26, 2021, the facility was ceremoniously inaugurated by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in the presence of senior ministers Pijush Hazarika, Nandita Gorlosa, KAAC CEM Tuliram Ronghang, and NCHAC CEM Debolal Gorlosa. But instead of housing children in need, the same building now reportedly functions as Hading Hotel — a commercial property, re-inaugurated on July 27, 2025, by Debolal Gorlosa himself.

“The building that was inaugurated by the CM himself for orphans is now functioning as a hotel. This is nothing less than a betrayal of public trust,” Langthasa told Pratidin Time earlier on Monday.

In their letter to the PAC Chairman, the two former leaders have demanded a thorough investigation into the repurposing of the welfare facility. They allege that the conversion of a state-funded orphanage into a commercial hotel violates financial norms and suggests deep-rooted collusion between government departments and local authorities.

“This is not just administrative negligence — this is a systematic looting of welfare resources meant for the most vulnerable,” the petition reads.

The controversy raises critical questions about the transparency of NLCPR-funded projects in the autonomous hill districts and whether the Social Welfare Department and the N.C. Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC) acted in concert to misappropriate the public asset.

So far, no official clarification has been issued by the Social Welfare Department or the council leadership. With mounting public pressure and growing political attention, the coming days may prove decisive in determining whether this alleged conversion was a bureaucratic oversight — or the face of something far more deliberate.

Also Read: Dima Hasao: Did A CM-Inaugurated Orphan Home Turned A Hotel?