From Our Correspondent
JOWAI: The Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) on Tuesday approved the Rs 71.82 crore budget estimates for the financial year 2013-14.
The EM in-charge Financial Affairs, Bhawan Chyrmang while tabling the budget in the House said, “The estimated expenditure of Rs 71.82 crore is more than the estimated actual receipt of Rs 70.93 crore, which is Rs. 89.70 lakh less than the budget estimate for the current financial year”.
For the first time in the history of the JHADC budget session, deliberations were made in Khasi.
Interestingly, immediately after the budget estimate was tabled in the House, the session turned out to be an indirect trial of strength between Lamdibok Sumer and MB Rymbai.
Members supporting the Lamdibok-led Executive Committee wanted to discuss the budget in the second sitting of the budget session while those siding with MB Rymbai asked for the members to be given time to study the budget estimate properly.
An argument between Congress members in the House forced the Chairman to ask members to raise their hands if they wanted to discuss the budget in the second sitting on Tuesday.
Since Lamdibok Sumer had support of majority of the members, the JHADC Chairman declared that the general discussion on the budget will continue in the second sitting of the budget session.
All members except Mynso MDC, ES Lyngdoh attended the budget session.
Members supporting MB Rymbai failed to turn up to take part in the general discussion on the budget in the second sitting as they have immediately disappeared.
Seven members supporting Rymbai, including former JHADC Chief Hambertus Nongtdu, Hollando Lamin, Thombor Shiwat, Stephanson Mukhim,Joinriwel Pyrtuh and Celius Biam along with Rymbai skipped the second sitting of the budget session after losing support in the House.
Earlier in the first sitting, Chyrmang who tabled the budget informed that the budget estimate has two parts- the District Council’s own fund and the Grant-in aid.
“The Council has never got the grant-in-aid as estimated in the budget,” Chyrmang said adding that the Council has received the grant-in-aid related to the Forest Department, Enforcement Machinery, Staff, Trading by non-tribal and Land Reform Scheme, less than what has been estimated in the budget.
“There are years when the Council never received any grant-in-aid meant for the Civil Work Department in the Five Year Plan due to non-submission of the utilization certificates and other circumstances,” the EM in-charge of Financial Affairs said while requesting all members to work together for the smooth functioning of the District Council.
Tuesday’s budget session, supposed to last for three days, as mentioned in the list of business, was prorogued on the first day itself.
Meanwhile, supporting the Lamdibok-led Executive Committee, the lone opposition member present in the house, Moonlight Pariat urged the Executive Committee to see that the construction progress of the decade old Iawmusiang project should not be delayed further.
