The Meghalaya government has deliberately and routinely misled the Centre on when it transfers central government funds to the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC), the Chief Executive Member, Titosstarwell Chyne said today.
The KHADC began its budget session today, overlapping with the budget session of the Assembly.
According to Chyne, the state government “has always” delayed in transferring central grants meant for the district council. Delays mean that the state should pay interest to the KHADC. However, it escaped this by lying to the Centre by saying that it passed on the money within 10 days of receiving it.
“We are supposed to get interest for the delay according to the market rate. But what is happening is that the state government in the grant transaction certificate to the Union Ministry of Finance shows that it has released the central funds to the KHADC within 10 days,” Chyne said.
Nowadays, however, the ministry monitors transactions through the Public Financial Management System which prevents such shenanigans by the state.
Congress MDCs Ronnie Lyngdoh (representing Mylliem) and Pynshngain Syiem (Mawkhar-Pynthorumkhrah) termed this practice as a serious breach of norms of conduct.
“Maybe they (the state government) are doing this to escape the interest they have to pay the council and the executive committee in the KHADC should follow up the matter,” Syiem said.
During the session, the status of the health sector grant under the Fifteenth Finance Commission for the ADCs was also discussed.
EC members Martel N Mukhim said that there was no official information on the status of the grant. He said he will soon write a reminder letter to the State government.
MDC of Mawhati Charles Marngar ridiculed the EC response and said that the Ministry of Finance has released the grant on November 30, 2021.
Chief Executive Member of the KHADC Titosstar well Chyne alleged that some officials from the state government tried to divert the Health Sector grant stating that the health sector is not the issue of the district council.
“Same problem had earlier arise in the tied scheme where the state government had tried to divert the scheme to the PHE department for execution of the drinking water supply and toilets on grounds that the district council does not have engineers and manpower, etc.,” he said, fortunately, the concerned ministry had mentioned clearly in the sanction orders that the implementing agencies for the said grants are the ADCs and the state government is bound to transfer the funds to the district council.
