A joint action committee formed to press for the demand of a separate Community and Rural Development (C&RD) Block in and around Nongkrem met with C&RD Minister Hamletson Dohling here today.
The committee was led by Nongkrem MLA Lambor Malngiang.
Speaking to reporters, Malngiang informed that last year the committee submitted a memorandum on the issue to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma but the matter was stuck because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Stating that people from villages like Nongkrem, Smit, Mawmuthoh, Umphyrnai, Lamlyer, Umiewmawsaw, Iewpomtiah and others have to travel up to 30 kilometres to reach Mawrynkneng C&RD Block headquarters, he said, “People from these villages have to travel so far away just to find out that the officer concerned is not available and then must return with great financial loss and inconvenience.”
It is completely unfair that elderly people have to travel 60km (both ways) to avail their pension at the block office, he added by way of example.
“This is the reason we have formed the JAC to demand a C&RD Block at Nongkrem, which has a population of more than 75,000, and we are very positive that this genuine demand of ours will materialize at the earliest with the entire infrastructure already available,” Malngiang said.
Dohling told them that the approval has to come from the Finance Department and that a joint meeting with the Chief Minister will be convened to discuss the matter.
Malngiang further maintained that the creation of a new block requires a minimum sanction of Rs 5 crore and stated that this amount is not too much to bring the public closer to the government and ease their problems.
