State Congress Party leader Manuel Badwar has opined that the newly formed executive committee of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) should adopt a progressive approach to reforms, rather than taking retrospective measures.
Badwar’s comments come in the wake of the recent termination of 13 employees and deregularisation of 30 others, who were made casual workers. The High Court of Meghalaya recently stayed the KHADC measures.
Badwar emphasised that the affected employees should not be penalised for the mistakes of politicians who had made promises to secure votes. “A job is a person’s livelihood, and it supports their families. We cannot make them suffer for the faults of others,” Badwar told this reporter.
He cautioned against bringing politics into policy-making, stating that it is not about electoral dividends. “Are you trying to chase out 20 people to appease thousands of others? That’s not the right approach,” Badwar said.
While acknowledging the need to clean up the system, Badwar urged the executive committee to do so progressively, without being retrospective. “We need to correct the injustices of the past, but we must do so in a way that does not deteriorate the sanctity of the district council system,” he said.
Badwar also highlighted the impact of sudden changes on employees who had been appointed to permanent jobs, only to be converted to casual workers. “Everything goes for a toss when that happens,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) stated that all appointments in the KHADC are illegal or irregular when viewed retrospectively.
KHNAM working president Thomas Passah expressed shock upon discovering through an RTI request that over 700 employees of the KHADC, who hold permanent positions, are also listed as temporary employees of the council. Another finding from the RTI revealed that the council has been violating the recruitment procedure mandated in the 1961 Rules of Service.
Regarding the recent development in the council, Passah suggested that a prospective approach might be more advisable, rather than a retrospective one. He emphasised the need for an independent inquiry to identify those responsible for the illegal appointments and to initiate legal action against them for violating the 1961 Service Rules.
Neither the Congress nor KHNAM have any representation in the KHADC as they failed to win a single seat between them at this year’s district council elections.
