Shillong, Aug 12: The Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) has defended its decision to allocate Rs 20 lakh each to opposition MDCs from 16th Finance Commission funds, saying it received the lowest share among the three ADCs in the state.
JHADC Deputy Chief Executive Member Lasky Rymbai said that the council received only Rs 28 crore under the 16th Finance Commission, compared to Rs 85 crore for KHADC and Rs 76 crore for GHADC. The allocation to the councils follows the prescribed 9:8:3 ratio.
The clarification came after 10 opposition MDCs from Congress and VPP alleged discrimination, calling the Rs 20 lakh per MDC too low. They have demanded Rs 50 lakh each, similar to KHADC, and alleged that a larger portion of JHADC’s funds is going to the 19 MDCs supporting the NPP-led Executive Committee.
Rymbai said the Rs 20 lakh allocation was decided in a Joint Parliamentary Party meeting after the funds were received. “In a democracy, the distribution of schemes is not always equal between the ruling and opposition sides,” he said.
On the comparison with KHADC, he said the difference in total grants must be considered. “KHADC received Rs 85 crore while we got Rs 28 crore. That gap directly impacts how much can be given to each MDC,” he said, adding that some KHADC MDCs had contacted him and he explained JHADC’s position.
On implementation, Rymbai said the Centre has directed that all Finance Commission scheme proposals be uploaded on the designated portal by August 15, 2026. JHADC had set August 5 as the internal deadline and he confirmed that opposition MDCs have already submitted their proposals based on the Rs 20 lakh allocation.
