Shillong: Tura Member of District Council (MDC) Bernard N Marak has urged Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma to instruct the NPP-led executive committee in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) to stop treating the BJP as the opposition.
He in a letter asked the CM to instruct the executive committee to ensure equitable allocation of tied and untied grants in constituencies represented by non-NPP MDCs.
In a letter dated October 15 to the chief minister, Marak expressed, “I kindly request you to address this issue and direct your executive committee to halt the practice of treating the BJP as the opposition and instead distribute the basic grants (tied and untied) equally to benefit the people. Please acknowledge this request and put an end to the discrimination against other non-NPP MDCs in GHADC, as it adversely impacts the constituents they serve.”
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Marak alleged that the GHADC executive committee had allocated only Rs 15 lakh to the Tura constituency, which also happens to be the chief minister’s constituency.
“I am a BJP MDC, and the NPP is in a coalition with the BJP at the national and state levels, but in GHADC, the NPP has displayed bias against the BJP in all activities, even in the distribution of development funds sanctioned by the BJP government in the Center through the Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) under the Fifteenth Finance Commission (XV FC),” Marak stated.
Highlighting that Tura is the largest constituency among GHADC’s constituencies, with the highest population and number of voters, Marak emphasized that bias by the NPP-led executive committee has deprived the people of Tura of essential services that could have been provided through funds sanctioned by the Center.
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Marak further alleged that the GHADC’s work order, limiting the allocation to only Rs 15 lakh, contravenes the Finance Commission’s guidelines.
“The limited allocation also infringes upon the constitutional rights of an elected representative, as it deprives the constituents they represent,” he added. “Tura is a prestigious constituency with over 30 villages, and I firmly believe it should not be deprived. In the past, the esteemed Tura constituency was similarly underfunded, with only Rs 10 lakh allotted from the tied and untied fund by the NPP-led executive committee.”
“I kindly request that you instruct your MDCs in GHADC to equitably distribute the funds. Furthermore, I urge you to release the pending payments owed to GHADC by the state government, including royalties and other outstanding debts, as GHADC has been struggling to pay its employees for the past 31 months. Please release the afforestation funds designated for the GHADC Forest department over the last three years, according to the agreement signed by ANVC and ANVC (B), as these funds are intended for GHADC, not the state. Additionally, release the motor vehicle taxes to GHADC, as the state has not settled its dues for years,” Marak stated in the letter.