Kokrajhar, April 29: Which comes first: the road or the car?

The government seems to believe cars should precede roads, going by its priorities for the Bodoland Territorial Areas District.

As many as 46 new vehicles — Boleros, Gypsies and Ambassadors — were delivered to the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) recently and nine more are on the way. However, there is no indication of funds for development of infrastructure being sanctioned in spite of Delhi and Dispur promising much in their memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the disbanded Bodoland Liberation Tigers.

The pact was signed on February 10, 2003.

“The recent arrival of the brand new vehicles speaks volumes of the government’s wisdom,” a source at the BTC headquarters said.

Since its formation in December last year, the BTC has received Rs 5 crore for development of the areas under its control, including four districts that rank among the most underdeveloped. The MoU promises Rs 100 crore every year.

BTC public relations officer A. Brahma said Rs 2 crore had been earmarked for education and Rs 1 crore each for the public health engineering, social welfare and health departments. “The government has declared another Rs 10.5 crore, but we have yet to receive the amount.

“It is wrong to surmise that the government has been unwise by giving us the vehicles when there are no good roads to drive them on. Haven’t you seen the vehicles they have given us? Those are meant for places where roads are not exactly roads,” a council member said, sarcasm dripping from each word.

The deputy commissioners of two of the three new districts that were created have not reported for duty. The state government had appointed deputy commissioners for the three new districts of Udalguri, Baksa and Chirang. Jagadish Choudhury has taken charge of Udalguri, but the other two officials — K.K. Dwivedi (Baksa) and Mohd. A.B. Enus (Chirang) — are yet to officially take up their assignments.

BTC deputy chief Chandan Brahma said the new administrative set-up was not quite prepared for the shortage of funds and bureaucrats. Militant leader-turned-BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary is reportedly in Guwahati to apprise Dispur of the problems he and his colleagues are facing.