By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The delay in reconstituting the Meghalaya State Women Commission (MSCW) has affected the normal functioning of the commission.
Sources in the Commission say that the functioning of the Commission is seriously hampered on account of the delay and files have been pending clearance since the signature of the new chairperson and vice chairperson of the commission are required.
The second commission headed by Susanna K Marak as the chairperson ended its three year term in July this year. However, the commission continued to function until August this year until its members were asked to demit office.
A senior government official on condition of anonymity said on Monday that the Social Welfare department has recommended the list of members for the constitution of the new body to Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma two months ago.
“The matter is still pending with the Chief Minister,” the official informed. The official however refused to divulge the names of the persons recommended.
“Since it is the discretion of the Chief Minister to decide on the members of the new commission we do not want to create confusion by divulging names,” the official added.
Meanwhile the delay in reconstituting the Women’s Commission has caused considerable problems for women who need the intervention of the Commission to resolve their problems.
Earlier, Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma gave a flippant answer to the question of appointment of a new Chairperson to the State Women’s Commission (SWC) saying that there were too many competent women to choose from.
Meanwhile some women activists have expressed surprise at Dr Sangma’s comments about ‘too many competent women’ and rued the delay in naming a new chairperson for the Women’s Commission.
“We have been reading in the newspapers that the present chief minister is impatient with delay from his bureaucrats, so how come he is himself causing the delay when it comes to women’s issues? Is it because women’s issues are not important for the Government?” the activist asked.
It is learnt that women with various problems are frequenting the office of the State Women’s Commission but return unattended.