Eight former MDCs of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) have lauded the current executive committee for ensuring that they are paid their pensions once again.
Speaking to reporters, the ex-MDC of Sohryngkham, Handle Mukhim, said that the MDCs had to move court for the pension rights even after a bill was approved by the Governor in 2006.
“In 2002 we passed the bill for the MDC pension that got the Governor’s assent in 2006 but our friend who led the EC in the KHADC after that never took care of the MDC pension until the High Court directed the KHADC and we started receiving it from January 1, 2009,” he informed.
In 2012 the pension payments were halted, however, after the council was told that there was no provision in the budget for MDC pensions but this has now been sorted out by the current EC, Mukhim said.
One sore point remains, though, and that is that the MDCs are only being paid a pension of Rs 5,000 a month when those of the JHADC, Mukhim added, have been getting Rs 15,000 plus Rs 5,000 in medical allowance since 2018.
