Shillong, July 20: Tura MDC Bernard Marak has alleged that the NPP is destroying the GHADC.
“One of the veteran Garo politicians’ aspirations was to abolish the District Councils in Meghalaya, and the crisis in GHADC is the culmination of that political agenda, with which some ruling MDCs in Garo Hills seek to eliminate the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council. Similar sentiments were expressed by some ruling MDCs to employees and even to fellow MDCs where they clearly mentioned GHADC will be in lock and key”, Marak said in a statement.
According to Bernard,the non-payment of salaries for 42 months is a deliberate attempt to portray the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council as a corrupt and inept institution aptly camouflaged the political agenda within.
“The failure to pay salaries has severely impacted the lives of thousands, including families of non-ruling MDCs. No matter how much issues were raised and concerns were highlighted about the misuse of funds, loss of revenue, and the transfer of income-generating departments to the state, but the Executive Members failed to address these issues despite multiple warnings. The pride, ego and incapability of the ruling MDCs who boasted of wielding power have led to the current crisis. I proposed several remedies during sessions, but they were disregarded inspite of giving assurances on the floor of the House. Apart from own revenues and funds, Crores were allocated by the Central Government, in addition to the Council’s funds, but 40% of these funds have vanished, likely due to misappropriation or misuse. The failure of the ruling MDCs should serve as a wake-up call for the people of Garo Hills, as the Council is not only failing or dying but is being deliberately destroyed”‘ he added.
