SHILLONG: UDP legislator Jemino Mawthoh on Tuesday asserted that the people in Meghalaya had become victims of xenophobia arising out of a stagnant economy and lack of development of the state.
“The impact of a stagnant economy and poor growth in development is being felt in increasing militancy in the state. The absence of real development has led to an increase of xenophobia especially when we talk of the youth population. This has been seen in the agitation that we have time and again which has disrupted the normal functioning of the state,” the UDP legislator said.
“If we talk about teachers, students’ bodies or NGOs, they are always ready to come to the warpath with the government destabilizing the normal functioning of the society. This kind of situation is not good for the state as a whole,” Mawthoh said.
“The state government is optimistic that the situation will improve in the next five years. But when we look at the ground reality, I have doubts on whether the state’s economy will really take off in the right manner,” Mawthoh said while participating in the general discussion on the budget.
He also expressed his dismay that the law and order in the State had not improved.
Referring to the BPL families, the Nongthymmai legislator pointed out that BPL families constitute half of the population of the state.
“The big question is whether the BPL population has been getting the necessary relief and support from the government in terms of poverty alleviation. I personally feel that the purchasing power of the people in the state is at an all-time low,” Mawthoh said.
The UDP legislator also observed that the issue of landlessness among the rural population was the biggest problem that needed immediate attention.
Speaking about the government sector, the UDP legislator said that government employees have been plunged into insecurity as many of them have not been getting their salaries for months.
“This delay in payment of salaries to the employees would have an adverse impact on the education of the children of the parents working in the government sectors,” he said.
Referring to the Government-run corporations, Mawthoh said that a host of government organizations have become liabilities for the state.
“Meghalaya has a dubious distinction when it comes to the number of failed corporations,” the UDP legislator said.
Mawthoh termed the budget presented by Chief Minister Mukul Sangma as a cosmetic one since it was not in resonance with the ground realities.
“All the major sectors like health, education and power are in shambles,” UDP legislator said.
Speaking on taxation, Mawthoh pointed out that the government’s decision to increase the VAT on cigarettes by 27 per cent was likely to bring down the revenue generation.
