Congress Party MDCs met the Chief Executive Member of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council today to submit a memorandum on the pending salaries of council staff.
The MDCs also told the CEM, Benedict Marak, that they are frustrated at seeing the GHADC’s jurisdiction being overridden by the state government.
The memo was submitted by Sadhiarani Sangma and Cherak Momin. In the letter, the 12 Congress MDCs sought a resolution to the current impasse on salaries and suggested that salaries be dispersed according to the latest pay scale, as was promised by the previous executive committee. They also requested the CEM to hold talks with the Chief Minister.
Meanwhile, protests continued today by GHADC employees over their unpaid wages. Police were deployed at the GHADC offices to ensure security. Some staff reportedly have accepted what little has been offered by the new EC and returned to work.
Furthermore, the Congress MDCs mentioned that an amount of Rs 91 crore was earmarked to the state under the 15th Finance Commission. However, there was an attempt to illegally divert the money to the Jal Jeevan Mission for implementation by the state.
“The GHADC has its own water resource department for implementing the same and as per the Finance Commission guidelines, the implementation should be done by rural local bodies. We disapprove of this move and urge you to speak to the CM so that the funds earmarked for the ADCs can be rightfully claimed by us,” said the letter.
The MDCs further inquired about the relation between the GHADC, Meghalaya Basin Development Authority and Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The MBDA had earlier advertised for proposals for design, development and maintenance of information and technology within the GHADC’s taxation department – a move that has raised vehement protests from most quarters.
“Why are such projects being outsourced to outside agencies? Is there a written agreement before allowing foreign agencies outside of the purview of the GHADC by the previous EC? We urge your EC to recall all such advertisements and revoke all such agreements which intrude into the autonomy of the GHADC,” they added.
