The All Selsella NGOs’ Alliance has urged the Soil & Water Conservation Department to revive the abandoned range office located at Damjonggre, Selsella under West Garo Hills district for administrative accountability, environmental justice, and socio-economic welfare of the people.
The organisation said that the range office was left abandoned for many years with no officer or staff that defeats the objective of implementing and monitoring soil and water conservation initiatives in the region.
“Such prolonged abandonment of a government office not only constitutes administrative inaction but also results in the denial of statutory rights and benefits meant for the local communities under various soil and water conservation schemes and programmes,” the organisation said.
It pointed out that the range office will benefit the locals in timely implementation of soil erosion prevention and water management schemes, access to technical guidance and assistance for farmers and cultivators in sustainable agricultural practices, facilitate employment opportunities under government schemes such as watershed development programmes as well as monitoring and conservation of the natural landscape, prevention of land degradation and protection of community water sources.
Meanwhile, the organisation has also written to the Secretary of the District Selection Committee with a request to implement block-wise recruitment and inclusion of Selsella aspirants in the upcoming DSC recruitment.
Expressing concern that no candidates from Selsella block were selected in the previous DSC recruitment processes the organisation stated that they should be fairly represented in any district-level recruitment process conducted by the DSC as there are many educated and eligible youths.
The block-wise recruitment process, according to the NGO, would ensure equal opportunity and representation for all blocks, including Selsella, Rongram, Dadeng, Tikrikilla, Dalu, Batabari, and Demdema.
