BJP Tura MDC Bernard N Marak has said that the municipalities have violated the guidelines of the 15th Finance Commission by not attending the scheduled meeting convened today by the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC).
Marak in a letter to Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said that the 15th Finance Commission Co-ordination Committee formed on February 2, 2024 had decided that the CEM would convene a meeting to work out details of plans/projects, proposals and procedures on implementation of the commission. However, the Municipal CEOs did not attend the meeting at the CEM’s chamber.
“This can be termed as a humiliation to the office of the CEM and the authority of the GHADC. Municipalities seem to be forgetting that they are functioning in the Sixth Schedule area,” he said.
Marak also said the decisions taken in a meeting held on February, 2, 2024 and on May 8, 2024 on installments of the Fifteenth Finance Commission were violated by the Municipalities as they submitted the proposals and implemented some funds without the knowledge of the GHADC which was against the norms.
The committee had decided certain conditions on the implementation of the funds and subsequently a letter was forwarded by the Director of the Urban Affairs but when inquired in GHADC, no one was aware of the funds already utilised by the Municipalities, he said.
Stating that the reply to RTI query revealed that projects were already implemented without the knowledge of GHADC and when the facts were provided, the CEM of GHADC invited the CEOs of all Municipalities who were implementing the funds under the 15th Finance Commission for the Urban Local Bodies to attend a meeting in June 27 but none of them turned up.
According to Marak, on May 8, 2024 it was decided that the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) shall convene a meeting with the representatives of ADCs under the urban areas at the level of CEM/Dy. CEM.
It was decided by the co ordination committee that the urban department and MDCs of the urban areas were to formulate plans of actions. None of these were followed by Municipalities which were implementing the 15th Finance Commission in place of the urban department, he added.
While municipality has already forwarded the proposals without consulting the MDC of the urban area and before consulting with GHADC, Marak said, the proposals made by municipal boards are mostly outside the municipal’s scheduled area. “Some of the proposed projects are duplicated while others are over estimated. People of urban areas would not benefit out of it,” he said.
Marak further urged the Deputy Chief Minister in charge District Council Affairs to cancel all proposals forwarded by the municipality boards without consulting the MDCs of the urban areas and GHADC and to stop all payments till the matter is sorted out.
