Governance in Meghalaya faces peculiar challenges. There are multifarious agencies from the traditional institutions to the district councils to the state government and the central government, all of which have their own ideas of how ‘governance’ is spelt out. The smallest unit of governance is the locality where the Dorbar Shnong holds sway. But does the Dorbar have the machinery to implement civic governance within its jurisdiction? It does not. So who takes on this task of civic governance? It is the Municipality which should legally be an elected body. But this has not been allowed to happen by vested interests who see the Dorbar Shnong as a power centre. Beyond municipal limits the garbage collection system is in a mess. This is happening across the state. Complaints from residents have fallen on deaf ears. The traditional institutions know they do not have the capacity to deliver civic governance but they resist the civic elections. How can this be allowed to happen? A grass-roots governance machinery is expected to deliver cutting edge services as it is the unit closest to the people. But in Meghalaya’s case these grassroots institutions are not connected to the government systems. Unlike panchayats they cannot use the government machinery to deliver governance. This is a major paradox.
By citing certain clauses in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, traditional bodies and are claiming immunity from the Municipal Act. As a result there is a stalemate where the losers are the public. Administrators face several problems in creating infrastructure as land belong to the people and every project is preceded by a protest. The slaughter house for Shillong and several other projects are yet to come up. In an enlightened democracy no group or individual can hold up a project for public good. This is happening in Meghalaya, times without number.
Corruption is another hindrance to good governance. Several international agencies like Transparency International and the World Bank studies testify to this. But the systems to address corruption are yet to be devised in Meghalaya. Although the Right to Information Act is used by different groups and individuals to highlight corruption, it has had little effect. The corrupt continue to get away with impunity. It would be futile to leave it to the Comptroller and Auditor General (GAG) alone to point out to corruption in the government. A strong civil society movement is called for to demand for a strong Lokayukta along the lines of Karnataka. Meghalaya is a small state; it cannot afford to ignore the cancer of corruption without serious consequences.