Shillong, Sep 25: The impasse between employees of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) and the authorities is set to continue after the Non-Gazetted Employees’ Association (NGEA) today rejected the state government’s offer of 12 months of pending salaries, which is well short of the workers’ demand for the full 44 months of arrears.
Workers have been protesting in demand for their pending salaries, which the GHADC has been unable to pay due to a severe financial crunch. The NGEA said that it would not call off the agitation until the demand is met in full.
Representatives of the NGEA met with the GHADC Secretary, Joint Secretary and members of the sub-committee formed to examine the issue. At the meeting the NGEA expressed concern over supposed discrepancies in the statements of the Deputy Commissioner, the sub-committee and GHADC officials. They argued that such inconsistencies raised doubts about the future of both monthly salary payments and broader reforms in the district council.
In an attempt to bring the crisis to a close and prevent it from recurring, the state government recently proposed taking on the responsibility of paying the salaries of all three district councils from November onwards.
NGEA leaders, however, dismissed this plan, stating that any such commitment must be made in writing with clear details of the system to be followed. They added that many organisations and citizens in Garo Hills had voiced apprehensions over the state’s stance, fearing that it would strike at the very heart of the autonomous body.
It has also emerged that there are factions within the NGEA that could be willing to compromise with the GHADC and government. A form has been doing the rounds internally among NGEA members to ascertain how many would be willing to take the government’s 12-month salary deal.
NGEA leaders appealed to all members to stand together and prioritise the collective interest over individual benefit and not act in a “hushed-up manner.”
