The State government is set to announce the name of the chairperson of the Meghalaya State Commission for Women (MSCW), which remained vacant for over a year now.
The important post, which is directly linked to the welfare of suffering women, fell empty since Phidalia Toi was removed by Social Welfare Minister Paul Lyngdoh after she had supposedly taken part in political campaigning during last year’s state elections.
“We have already gone through the entire process cleared the name of one individual whom we cannot name at this point of time because of the MCC,” Lyngdoh told reporters.
He said the announcement will be done after counting of votes.
Lyngdoh chose to disagree that there is a delay in appointing the commission head. “There is no such thing as a delay. The name has been cleared and the person concerned already consented to the appointment,” he stated.
The new chairperson, if elected will have about nine or less months to remain in office since the term of the present body will end in December this year.
It has become difficult for the vice-chairperson to take up the responsibility of the chairperson since she is based in Garo Hills and is preoccupied with engagements there.
In the absence of a chairperson, Meghalaya has to be represented by a member for any meeting of the National Commission for Women, which has shown the state in poor light.