Margherita's Women Hall In Limbo: Locals Question MLA & Contractor

At a time when the BJP government claims to be championing women’s development, a major corruption scandal has come to light in the construction of a Women’s Community Hall in No. 1 Toklong village under the Margherita Legislative Assembly Constituency in Tinsukia district of Assam. 

The community hall meant for the Parijat women’s self help group, with an allocation of around Rs 5 lakh, was left incomplete midway through construction. Today, it stands abandoned and has effectively turned into a cow shelter, a stark reflection of the BJP’s model of development.

According to locals who, the project, which began in the 2019-20 fiscal year with funding from the MLA development fund, remains incomplete even after four years.

Local residents who spoke exclusively to Pratidin Time correspondent Aichang, raised serious allegations against the contractor named Devendra Upadhyay, accusing him of embezzling sanctioned funds and denying rightful payments to those involved in the construction work. Despite repeated complaints to local MLA Bhaskar Sharma, especially by women of the village, no concrete action has been taken to address the issue.

Villagers allege that the lack of accountability stems from the fact that Devendra Upadhyay is a BJP party worker. This, they claim, has shielded him from any scrutiny or legal action, allowing the corruption to go unchecked.

The abandoned, half-built structure stands as a stark reminder of administrative apathy and political protectionism, frustrating the hopes of the community.

The locals have demanded a proper investigation into the misappropriation of funds and immediate steps for the completion of the long-delayed project. 

Speaking exclusively to Pratidin Time, a local carpenter involved in the project said, "I worked on the community hall back in 2020, but the construction was abruptly halted. It resumed briefly in 2022, but there were several irregularities. As far as I know, work worth over Rs 3 lakh was carried out, yet most of the construction remains incomplete. I, too, haven’t received my pending wages. The contractor in charge was Devendra Upadhyaya — that's how we know him."

Members of the Parijat Women’s Self-Help Group expressed their frustration:

"As far as we are concerned, this is a clear case of corruption. The government often speaks about women empowerment, but those words remain on paper, there is no reflection of it on the ground. All we want now is for the remaining work to be completed without further delay."

Another woman from the group added, "A man named Devendra Upadhyaya, whom we know as the contractor, was involved in the project. Along with him, the ward councillor of Lekhapani Panchayat, Naba Dutta, visited us and made several promises. But none of those assurances materialised. In fact, he doesn’t even take our calls anymore. We've raised our concerns with the media multiple times, but he has never responded to us."

They also pointed to political apathy saying, “We even approached our local MLA with the issue, but no action has been taken from his end either. At this point, we’ve lost all hope, nothing has brought results.”

ALSO READ: BJP’s 'Jati, Mati, Bheti' Rings Hollow in Margherita's Jagun Namphai Sonowal Village