Rural Development Minister Francis Ngajokpa yesterday dismissed charges levelled by Andro MLA, Th Shyamkumar accusing him of mis-appropriation of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana scheme funds. Terming the charges as baseless, Francis Ngajokpa said the PMGSY e-procurement and e-tender process is handled by the nodal agency of National Rural Road Development Agency. He said the State and concern minister cannot use their influence and power to manipulate the funds. On Saturday, MLA Th Shyamkumar had accused Francis Ngajokpa of swindling funds and demanded his resignation. Rural Development Minister Francis Ngajokpa said the bidding rate was less than pervious schedule rate as contractors under PMGSY are mostly sub-contactors. He said this time sanctioned funds were also less compared to previous years.  Minister Ngajokpa said he is unable to act on the matter as the guidelines allows bidding rate to be lower than the schedule rate.