Editor,
Paul Lyngdoh has driven home his points excellently in his Cutting Edge column, “Of sheen and substance” (ST July 7 2012) One has to wait and watch what the Government of Meghalaya under the leadership of Dr Mukul Sangma does with the unanimous resolution adopted by the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly on 16th March 2011 wherein it recommended the setting up of a Boundary Commission. The ball is now in the court of the Government. The 12 points of dispute along the 733 Km Assam-Meghalaya border has to be resolved once and for all. The HSPDP whose numbers are now dwindling day by day should stop playing politics in Langpih. Let us not forget that Mr Hopingstone Lyngdoh did nothing as an MLA on the boundary issue except making noises. Even if we look at the socio-economic development in West Khasi Hills there is nothing in the erstwhile Nongstoin Constituency worth mentioning. What has the MLA done with his Local Area Development Scheme? The HSPDP is making noises in the wilderness while its vote bank is shrinking from 15.70 percent in 1972 to 3.89 percent in 2008. Paul Lyngdoh has rightly quoted Mark Twain “Noise proves nothing – often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she had laid an asteroid.”
Yours etc.,
Freddy Lyngdoh,
Via email
Time to get real
Editor,
When I look at how my article came out the other day, I have to cringe. In my head, it seemed so much better! Anyway, the words “Learn, O government, learn” featured prominently. Now I look at these words as really, really stupid. How can I expect the government to change? What, or who, are the government anyway? Ministers are not the government surely? They can’t simply make all the decisions can they? So who are the people running the government? I think that this is one HUGE problem we have here. Not naming names and not pulling the weeds up individually is dangerous. I mention danger as a very real element because this now allows the biggies to go about with impunity. Just one example is the case of ex-CM FA Khonglam who was directly implicated by RTI enquiries by the Sohra People’s Movement and he simply disappears into the background because of the corrupt justice system we have here. I won’t even bother to defend this statement because a quick search reveals the Khonglam odyssey, and well, public opinion has nice, juicy adjectives for our judicators. This is dangerous because it shatters people’s hopes in justice. I may sound like a herald of doomsday, but I assure you if justice is not fair, then the “disinterested” youth will not be so disinterested anymore. Worse comes to worse, it will be anarchy.
These days seem like the early days when the HNLC and company were first asserting their voices for support. It won’t be so-called decent people like you and I (hypocrites) who will be the support. It will be the insulted and deprived majority. Remember, public opinion is very important. No matter how ill-informed it may be, it is important to understand, analyse and address it.
What is to be done? Well, I have no real clues actually. But I am assured, by my well-placed friends, that neither does the government. In dealing with this type of overwhelming nastiness, I have to insist you turn menacing. We should all remind these biggies that they work for us. This coming election, remind them of their roles, and more importantly, of your role in deciding that. Even if you do not really have a clue about politics, simply think about the benefits to your own locality that your current MLA may or may not have brought and then decide. Most importantly, do not elect businessmen as your MLAs because their first priority will be their businesses and by giving them political power, you are endangering our society at large. In fact, be suspicious of anyone who thinks that turning MLA will mean they have access to resources to start their own business. Remember it is not their money and power, it is ours. Now looking at the present cabinet and their business holdings, you might ask if we should re-instate them as our elected representatives? I would not be voting for them if I were you.
Yours etc.,
Babet Sten,
Via email
Unfair practices
Editor,
I would like to bring to the notice of your readers the unfair practice of landlords in Shillong which have made life un-liveable for the common man. The “Shillong landlord” has become a symbol of total greed and indecency for tenants. Firstly, landlords charge exorbitantly high rents comparable to rents in cities like Kolkata and Delhi. The housing shortage has been exploited to the full by these greedy landlords who fix and raise rents at their whim and fancy without paying attention to the guidelines laid down in the Meghalaya Urban Areas Rent Control Act, 1972. A toothless Congress government suffering from policy paralysis (I assume they are still debating amendments to the Act since 1972!) ensures that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, courtesy these greedy landlords who take away 50%-60% of earnings each month. There is no Rent Controller in the state to rationalize rents and provide relief to tenants in the middle and lower classes. This shows you how weak and ineffective the Act really is. So far, neither the Urban Affairs Ministry nor the Dorbar Shnong have shown the least bit of interest in safeguarding the rights of tenants. (They could do a lot with their intervention, but its too much work I suppose!) Most landlords also take undue advantage by interfering in the private lives of tenants with “checking” at odd hours ,not carrying out necessary building repairs which forces tenants to live in substandard conditions, imposing unrealistic restrictions such as number of people allowed, regulating entry-exit timings, etc. Again, Urban Affairs and the Dorbar Shnong could play a key role here if they wanted. Meanwhile the poor tenants have to continue living with the fear of eviction in case they cannot meet the steep rent increase. Is the State Government willing to step in and do something to restore some sanity to the house rent business? Will the Dorbar Shnong react in a positive manner and warn these greedy landlords to back off ? Or will they too prefer to shut their eyes and ears to a concern that threatens the very existence of a large section of citizens, namely tenants from lower/ middle income groups? We need a stronger Act to deal with this situation in any case.
Yours etc.,
Mylene R
Shillong -14
