The former Norgaygang Gup and Mangmi along with the former Joenpang-Linggarnang Tshogpa appealed to the Samtse District Court. The Tashichhoeling Dungkhag court convicted them last month for the illegal construction of a farm road in the gewog in 2020.
The district court for now have registered the case and plan to use the e-Litigation platform which will enable virtual hearing of the case given the COVID situation in the district.
The Dungkhag court sentenced the former gup to two years and six months in prison. Likewise, the former Norgaygang Mangmi and Joenpang-Linggarnang Tshogpa were sentenced to one year and three months in prison for their involvement in the case.
They were also ordered to pay a compensation of over Nu 800,000 to the government for using public money in the illegal construction of the farm road.
Sharing their dissatisfaction with the Dungkhag court’s judgment, the former local leaders said they are still unaware of how the construction of the farm road is a threat to the nation.
Moreover, they said that all works related to the construction of the farm road were done as per the directives from the Tashichhoeling Dungkhag administration.
They further added that neither the Dungkhag nor the Dzongkhag issued an order to stop the construction works until the farm road was complete. Meanwhile, the gewog administrative officer and the gewog engineer who was also convicted in the same case last month did not appeal.
The farm road constructed to benefit at least 13 households of the village remains unused and blocked since the last monsoon.
In connection to the case, the former Norgaygang Gup had also filed a case against the Home Secretary and the planning officer for alleged administrative lapses last year. The home secretary was then serving as the Samtse Dzongda. The case was however dismissed due to lack of enough evidence.
Passang Dorji, Samtse
