SHILLONG: Meghalaya Governor V. Shanmuganathan will create history as he is set to address the GHADC session shortly.
The Governor gave this assurance to a delegation of NPP MDCs led by Conrad Sangma which called on him on Monday at Raj Bhavan.
NPP legislators James Sangma, Nihim Shira, GHADC chief executive member Denang Sangma Deputy CEM, Chairman, and Executive Members were part of the delegation.
The delegation met the Governor primarily to invite him to address the GHADC session.
The Legislative Assembly is addressed by the Governor on the first day of the budget session, but the GHADC session is never addressed by the Governor.
Briefing media persons after meeting the Governor, Conrad said, “It is for the first time in history that the Governor will address the House, and he has agreed to do so and as for the timing, we will coordinate with the Governor’s office later.”
The NPP leader also informed that apart from the formal address in GHADC, the Governor will also inaugurate the bamboo mission programme earlier next month in Garo Hills.
Conrad said that the bamboo mission programme supported by Tripura Bamboo Mission, and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) will be a platform to generate employment opportunities for the youths.
The delegation also apprised the Governor on the current financial crunch in GHADC which resulted in employees not getting salaries for the last five months.
The MDCs are also affected due to the non-release of salaries.
According to Sangma, each month over Rs 3 crore is required for the payment of salaries of the employees, while the pending salaries are over Rs 16 crore.
“It’s a challenge to work towards keeping the GHADC in good shape, as there are so many areas to work on,” Conrad observed.
Concern over Kharkutta killing: Conrad also expressed shock over the Government’s apathy over the firing incident recently in North Garo Hills that claimed two lives, “The local MLA has visited the families, but the Chief Minister and the Home Minister have not gone there yet. We are also demanding Rs 10 lakh as compensation for each victim,” Sangma said.
