Editor,
The demands of the Federation of All Ad-hoc Schools of Meghalaya (FASTOM) of just Rs 18,000 enhancement and an annual increment of 5% is paltry. By paying only this much for the valuable, dedicated and untiring services of the school teachers is not only exploitation but, in fact, it is an insult to our respected teachers. However, to demand deficit pay scales for the ad-hoc teachers is not wrong but it may not be easily feasible. How much money are the MLAs, the ministers, the officers and the useless political appointees are paid per month from Meghalaya Public Exchequer?
Again, there is enough government money to pay crore of rupees to pay for government appointees and also for useless government festivals, like the Cherry Blossom, Megong, Dawki River festival and also other fruitless government spending just to make hay while the sun shines by those officials and Ministers who are looking after such futile exercises but no money for school teachers, majority of whom get salaries in a gap of five to six months or even for longer period? Enough is enough please. Where is the government’s priority and responsibility? Where do you spend the taxes, royalties, cess, CSR collections, illegal collections from illegal transportation of coal trucks, illegal mining of coal, limestones, sand stones etc. or has the money gone into private pockets? How long do you indulge in looting and plundering the state revenues and resources?
Remember the time for reckoning is already on the threshold and very soon you will be seeking your mandate from the voters. I earnestly appeal to all voters of Meghalaya to vote only for those who are responsible, efficient, capable, transparent and who can deliver real governance and please let us not allow our coming public representatives to continue to loot and plunder the wealth of the state for another 50 years whereas the state remains high and dry.
Philip Marwein,
Senior journalist,
Shillong
