Meghalaya is all set to commemorate its golden jubilee celebration on the 21st January 2022 which marked the State’s 50th full-fledged statehood status from Assam on the 21st January 1972. While within the 50th milestone, the State has witnessed a total of ten Assemblies and ten governments governing the State at the strength of its 60 member-House representing the people from the constituencies across the State.
While some of these governments showed some extent of the positive essence of governance others prove failure and frustration. Different parties from the national ones to the regional ones are taking their turns in leading the government in the State. However, at its golden age, the State still seems to lack the basic and conceptual ideology of healthy and fit governance.
There are regions within the State’s topography that got special treatment and special attention by these governments for development and even for further beautification, whereas some regions are just not so fortunate enough and are blatantly left unnoticed and unattended.
Government after government are indulging in their political trade and business of which they play best, blaming, condemning and pointing fingers at their predecessors for the failures and incompetence caused in governances. Issues ranging from border disputes to rampant coal trafficking, basic road connectivity to drinking water, electricity to health infrastructure, education to waste management. These and many other major issues continue to irk and vex the general public.
Ridiculously, the government has all the financial resources to organise various festivals of every sorts and kind in the namesake of promoting this and promoting that while most of our remote rural areas are living in the dark and struggling a hard life with no electricity, no road connectivity and no drinking water and no proper health accessibility. Residents of such areas and the border areas have fallen victim to the false promises of a better life made by every visiting politician during election campaigns.
The present MDA Government nonetheless is another government whose governing methodology exhibits nepotism and favouritism in the course of its endeavour. Be it the Central schemes or the State schemes, implementation of these schemes are always in a region already stacked with existing development and infrastructure.
Jaintia hills region is one of such region in the State which has been a sufferer of deprivation and discrimination by every government in the span of all the fifty years. The present government however functioned in a way that Jaintia hills region is not in its developmental goal. With almost 80 per cent of the schemes and projects being placed and located for implementation in Khasi hills and Garo hills, Jaintia hills alone stand neglected and isolated.
The game being played by the government in turning Jaintia hills as its business district for the politicians in power does not only end with exploitation of the region’s rich minerals deposits. Ironically, basic infrastructure such as road connectivity, healthcare accessibility, potable drinking water availability and electricity connectivity to many villages in the region are intentionally abandoned and forsaken.
The golden age of the State also revealed the failed waste management measures of the government as Jowai witnessed the garbage endemic and crisis of which Jowai being one of the major towns in the State unnecessarily being turned into a dumping ground with tons and tons of garbage and solid waste piling every day. The question now is whether the Chief Minister will take pride in clicking his selfie or picture if he visits the Jaintia hills region as he regularly did while walking the street or dining his lunch in a local dhaba in Garo hills?
The Conrad Sangma government has decided to launch over 300 projects in the State as part of the State’s 50th statehood commemoration. Will the Chief Minister allot equal shares to Jaintia hills from these 300 projects? Or will he simply include and insert Jaintia hills with Khasi hills like always and then give a nil project to Jaintia hills in particular? Nobody can deny the fact that Jaintia hills too deserve technical colleges, skill development institutions, university, hospitals besides other human resources development and skills equivalent with the other region in the State but did the government have these plans/projects in place for Jaintia Hills?
Our dearest seven MLAs representing the Jaintia hills region undoubtedly are the most silent and most obedient representatives in Conrad’s regime. Perhaps the MDA has taught them well on how to be good with saying “Yes’ rather than saying ‘No’ to the Chief Minister at the cost of neglecting those whom they are representing in the House. The hue and cry of their folks means nothing to them most of the time.
In conclusion, as a concerned and responsible citizen of the Jaintia hills region, I urged the Chief Minister to consider development of the region in the same way as is being done to other parts of the State. Unless development and progress walk hand in hand and percolate to every nook and cranny of the State, the celebration of the State’s golden jubilee is yet another day to remind the people of the incompetency of all the governments in running the State for the past 50 years!! (The writer is a resident of Dkhiah West village, East Jaintia Hills District)
