By Barnes Mawrie
Justice is a fundamental right of every human being in any society. It is the substratum of a truly human society, of a peaceful coexistence. Without justice everything is bound to collapse and society itself is left in jeopardy. This is the reason why every civilized society seeks to keep in place the system and machinery for ensuring justice to its citizens.
Sixty nine years after independence, India is unfortunately still infected with the virus of injustice and corruption. In fact corruption thrives where injustice prevails. The Bollywood movie Andha Kanoon of 1983 clearly projects the actual situation in our country where the law seems to protect only the rich and the powerful. It is not surprising that a poor man who steals a loaf of bread to quench his hunger could be allowed to rot in prison for life while a politician or a power-wielding person who is involved in a crime or a multi-crore racket would circumvent the law and go scot free. The case of Jessica Lal is typical of this sort of justice being practiced in our country. There are thousands of such cases where justice has been denied to people and families just because they have no political clout or because they are the have-nots.
Coming to the context of our own state, we see the same deplorable situation. Injustice is being perpetrated by those in power. I refer to the case of Umroi Airport Expansion Project which is a hot issue at present. The Airports Authority required a big plot of land for construction of the Isolation Bay. This is clearly in the interest of the public and there is no objection to that, but the way the plots of land have been acquired by the State Government is questionable and it goes against basic justice. We all know that in the Four-lane Project the Government had paid reasonable compensations to land owners and thank God the project has been successfully completed. But in the case of the Airport Expansion Project the rightful land owners have so far not received any compensation whatsoever. Records show that the money has been paid by the Revenue Department of Ri Bhoi District. Cheques have been issued to a certain person and the money has been deposited in the bank. The Government authorities claim that the money paid was for all the plots required for the project. But strangely enough the rightful owners of the six plots were not in the know of such a secret deal. It appears like the District authorities suo motu have concluded the deal with that individual making it appear like she is the owner of all the said plots. It is surprising that the authorities could commit such a flaw and pay a person without ascertaining the ownership of the land. What is stranger still is that persons involved in such illegal dealings in the district departments have not been summoned or prosecuted so far.
Are they going to get away with this criminal act? Is this what justice is all about?
It is the duty of the legal authorities to question the incongruence in the administration of public goods. Here is a matter of public money being spent in a questionable manner. As a matter of fact, we all know that every rupee is well accounted for in any government department. But what has transpired in the land deal cited above, is almost a mystery. What really irks the aggrieved party is the dilly dally policy of the government and its unwillingness to constitute an enquiry into this mishandling of public money. I was surprised to hear the government say that this issue does not pertain to the jurisdiction of the PAC. If the PAC has been precisely constituted to monitor the use of public money then why on earth is this issue outside its jurisdiction? The PAC in fact has every right to know how the public money (tax payers’ money) has been used by the government department concerned. The PAC has the duty to ascertain that the public money spent should go to the right persons, in the right manner and through proper channels. I wonder why the PAC which was so enthusiastic about taking up this cause, has all of a sudden kept silent. Is it political pressure or is it a survival strategy which prevents them from fighting for justice? I believe that the cause of justice should transcend race, religion, nationality, partisanship and even personal well-being.
The people of Meghalaya have been for too long silent witnesses of the injustice and corruption going on inside our society. These are like worms gnawing at the fabric of our sociopolitical and cultural system and finally leaving it decadent. I hope that NGOs who are concerned with the welfare of our society will come forward to take up this issue of sheer injustice being perpetrated in our State. The media can play a powerful role in highlighting this issue and bringing the culprits to justice just as it did in the Jessica Lal’s case years ago. Good people should not remain indifferent to the injustice and corruption that are going on. We ought to remember what Edmund Burke once said “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.”