The Hynñiewtrep Integrated Territorial Organization (HITO) today said that the state government’s priority lies not in conceptualizing developmental and welfare plans for the people but, rather, to ensure uninterrupted growth of illegal businesses owned by its cronies.
“The MDA (Meghalaya Democratic Alliance) blatantly turns a blind eye to all sorts of illegal activities, such as illegal mining and transportation of coal, open operation of illegal coke plants, irregular allotment of projects, etc, while their coffers are filling to the brim,” HITO president Donbok Dkhar said in a statement issued today.
Stating Meghalaya will celebrate its Golden Jubilee in less than a year, he said, “We are yet to have a proper and authenticated interstate boundary and land encroachment and brutal attacks on the state’s border population continues but nothing has been done by this government except sending a couple of officials to make a nominal inquiry.”
Terming the recent incident where Assam police seized one lakh bags of Meghalaya government-owned rice as disgraceful, the HITO leader claimed that the pressure group suspects a sinister design behind this matter because the person at the helm of affairs and in the eye of the storm is none other than a close family friend of the Chief Minister.
Stating that this person has been allotted and tasked with the provision/manufacture and supply of food grains under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in Meghalaya but very few know about it, he said, “Surprisingly, little is being heard from the government on this matter except a one-page clarification from the Social Welfare Department and a meek announcement of an official inquiry into the matter, which is just another classic example of the scores of government inquiries that fail to even see the dawn forget the light of day.”
He added, “We now understand that the lockdown is helping the government contain its can of worms and taxing public issues such as MeECL, CAB, ILP, teachers’ remuneration, Them Metor relocation, deterioration of the education system to name a few rather than help contain the spread of the virus amongst its people which elected it in the first instance,” he alleged.
He also said that instead of worrying about such pressing issues, the government is openly finishing their sprawling private constructions and shamelessly acquiring real estate, prime land, and property even going to the extent of owning illegal coal mines on behalf of their political godfathers.
Stating that the reason is simply that the public has chosen the wrong set of people to be at the helm of affairs and permitted them to loot and plunder with ease, Dkhar said, “Some are politicians by inheritance or nepotism, several are businessmen; while a number of them are happy to just remain pawns or puppets of some conceited “moguls” and live by their stale table crumbs and greasy leftovers.”
