By Fabian Lyngdoh
This is an issue which needs public debate and judgment. The Assam State Electricity Board- a Statutory Board constituted by the State of Assam under Section 5 of the Electricity(supply) Act, 1948 requested the District Council-United Khasi-Jaintia Hills which is a body corporate constituted under the 6th Schedule to the Constitution, for securing necessary land and other facilities for operating the Umiam Hydro- Electric Project in the Khwan area. In August 1971, an agreement was signed between the two bodies wherein the District Council provided 5 square miles of land to the ASEB for the purpose. The ASEB in turn agreed inter-alia that:
1. In distributing electricity generated at the project, the Board shall give first priority to the requirements of the people in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills.
2. Should the District Council desire to take up distribution of electric power in its jurisdiction including the whole town of Shillong, the Board shall permit on a monopoly basis that right to the District Council.
3. The Board shall give preference to the people of Khasi-Jaintia hills in matters of employment to unskilled jobs. As regard skilled jobs, the Board shall employ available local tribal provided they possess requisite qualifications.
4. The Board shall provide excess water for irrigation purpose, and shall supply power at a special cheap-rate for the purpose of irrigation.
5. Should the District Council desire to open tourist sites and centres within the area occupied for the project, the Board shall without any financial liability, give all possible assistance to the District Council to develop tourism provided such activities do not cause interference to the project and its installations.
6. In case of damage by flood of the lake to the adjoining areas, the Board shall pay full compensation to the affected people.
7. The fishing rights in the lake so formed shall exclusively belong to the District Council, which shall manage the fishery in any manner it thinks fit provided it does not hamper the generation of electricity, and also provided that the District Council shall issue free licenses for rod-fishing to the staff of the Board posted at the site, free license to the Chairman of the Board and for the Members of the Board and their guests (V.I.Ps). The District Council shall reimburse to the Board the cost of the fingerlings that had initially been put into the lake and also pay to the Board the expenditure it had incurred in 1964 for clearing the bed of the lake.
In part 4 of the agreement the Board further covenants that it shall recommend to the State Government the constitution of a Local Advisory Committee for the United Khasi-Jaintia Autonomous District in terms of Section17 of the Electricity(Supply) Act 1948 with adequate representation therein from the District Council.
Two aspects of this agreement require discussion. This agreement is inclined in favour of the District Council. The District Council can take up distribution of electricity on monopoly basis; it can set up tourist centres in the areas surrounding the lake and also to develop fishery. But we see that it is the Forest department of the State Government which set up the Nehru park and the department of tourism set up the Orchid Lake Resort without the knowledge of the District Council. The Local Advisory Committee with adequate representation from the District Council has not been constituted, or if it had been constituted in the past it is now non existent. When lands in the project area have been leased out to different agencies or private individuals the District Council was not even informed. Instead of excess water being provided to farmers for irrigation, it is the military station at Rangmen which pumps out the water from the dam.
The existence of this agreement is not unknown to the Executive Committee of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council or the Members of the Council. Rather than disputing with the State Government on the scavenging rights over the Umkhrah river it would be more reasonable for the District Council to claim authority over the Umiam lake and the lands surrounding it because this is backed up by a favourable agreement. With regard to sanitation problem in Shillong, I personally believe that until underground central sewerage system is constructed, ka Wah Umkhrah and Umshyrpi would always have to function as open sewerage canals and there is no other way out. The effort to sensitize the people to keep these rivers clean is highly appreciated, but it should have been the civic responsibility of the State Government to deal with this mammoth problem. It was reported that the State Government had conceived of a multi-crore project to deal with the flood menace and sanitation. May that project see the light of day! The KHADC has shown a good example of civic sense for the State Government to follow. Leaving to the District Council with its financial position, barely sufficient even to meet its staff salaries, would have drained all its resources to deal with this project while the real solution is distant. As the State Government and the District Councils are concerned with the same territorial jurisdiction, it is time that they seriously attend to their respective objectives to avoid unnecessary disputes and duplication of efforts.
The second aspect of this agreement is that the land was provided to the Assam State Electricity Board because it was a government undertaking working for the welfare of the people without profit motive. When Meghalaya State came into being, the Board was renamed as the Meghalaya State Electricity Board (MeSEB).The Meghalaya State Government is the government of the Khasi-Jaintia people as well as of the Garos. This Government is not a constitutional representation of the Khasi people but it is a sarkari authority without consideration of tribe or culture, and hence it cannot be the successor, representative or assign of the erstwhile United Khasi-Jaintia Autonomous District Council. The agreement was not renewed because the MeSEB was also a government undertaking working for the welfare of the people without considering much about profit and loss. Long lines have been drawn with big financial expenditure even for the sake of twenty households. Energy charge was not heavy and service connection charge was affordable by the poor. But now, the MeSEB has become the Meghalaya Electricity Corporation Limited. The Board has turned into a Corporation where the concept of social welfare becomes only a secondary, ‘corporate social responsibility’. A commercial institute may open also to private investments. The MeSEB was for the welfare of the people and its employees while the MeECL is for the interests of its investors whether it is the government or the private shareholders if any)Within a decade energy charge has tripled and the service connection charges have risen so high that poor people can barely afford it. This rise in the cost of electrical energy and its connection cannot be attributed to the rate of monetary inflation, but to the commercial and profit motive of the institution. Originally in the agreement the ASEB assured that top priority be given to the domestic requirements of the people of Khasi-Jaintia hills and not to the requirements of big industries. Now as a commercial institute it should certainly think first for profit and the power requirements of big industries should be the top priority. In the past, the users of electric energy were called ‘consumers’ now they may be called ‘customers’. The rural people are somehow fortunate now because the Central Government is providing subsidy for extension of electric lines and BPL connections through the agency of the MeECL. But for how long would the Central Government continue to dole out such gifts?
I feel that since the MeECL is now a commercial corporation, the natural resources it utilizes, which belong to the people have become commercial too, and hence not free of cost. The agreement has to be redrafted and the MeECL should pay royalty and cess for water and other resources to the District Council which constitutionally represents the people who own the resources and which is also the signatory authority in the agreement. Or the MeECL should re-consider its commercial attitude with regard to the people of Khasi-Jaintia hills. Why should the natural resources of the community be freely given to a commercial institute to make profit in the name of Meghalaya State? It would be good for the people to know whether the electrical energy produced by the various stages of the Umiam Hydro-Electric Project is sufficient or not for domestic use and maintenance of civic amenities, or if it is used up by the big industries? The ultimate purpose of human industry is to make social living comfortable, not to reduce human comfort for the sake of industry. It would be good also to know who else besides the State Government own the assets of the MeECL. May we have the views and opinions from various thinkers on these issues?
(The writer is Chairman KHADC. The views expressed in these columns are purely personal. Email: [email protected])