State turns 44 today: Joint cadres, Assam Acts still prevail
SHILLONG: A state Government without an official emblem and continuance of Joint Cadres are still reflective of the state of affairs in the Hill State which turns 44 on Thursday. After 44 years of statehood, Meghalaya still depends on many Assam rules and Acts as adopted for the functioning of various State Government departments.
As the State celebrates Meghalaya Day, The Shillong Times spoke to some prominent figures in the state to seek their opinion on the State’s progress and obstacles it stares at.
Commenting on Meghalaya’s borrowed rules, RG Lyngdoh, Martin Luther Christian University Vice-Chancellor, said that it is high time the “copy-paste policies” taken from Assam be looked into by Meghalaya.
He, however, lamented that “we are complacent on this issue.”
The former Home Minister also underlined the need to fast track development in the state. “Though there has been development in certain pockets of the state, the rural sector stands neglected… To boost the economy of the state, the infrastructure should be improved,” he said adding that the people need schemes that will trickle down to the grassroots.
He also stressed on the need to address the law and order situation in Garo Hills.
Lyngdoh urged bureaucrats to serve the people and not Governments. Stating that the Executive is dominated by the Legislature he said, “The Judiciary, Executive and Legislature must be at par to strengthen the state.”
He also urged the people of the state to renew their passion and spirit and remember the leaders who were involved in securing statehood.
Former Chief Secretary, HWT Syiem, meanwhile voiced support for the Joint Cadre system.
“I am in favour of continuing it. It has worked well over the years considering that we were also a part of Assam,” he said.
The officers of All India Services are organized into cadres, derived from the states they are allotted to work in as long as they continue to be a member of the respective Service. Twenty-four states have their own cadre, but there are also three joint cadres including Assam-Meghalaya.
He also played down all the talk about the missing emblem stating that it will come out in due course of time.
“Meghalaya has the reputation of being slow. We should look back at what we have achieved, at our aspirations,” he said.
While commenting on borrowed rules, he said that even after India’s independence, many of the British Government’s rules remained. “There have been amendments to some Acts to suit the changing times and there are some good rules as well,” he said.
He added that changes should be incorporated from time to time.
UDP working president, Paul Lyngdoh observed that it is a matter of disappointment that the state has not come up with an official emblem although contests were conducted for the same.
He recollected that in the year 2009 the state incurred a lot of expenditure by organising contests to zero in on specimens of the emblem but there has been no follow up.
Reacting to a query on Joint Cadres, he observed, “Assam is a bigger state and tagging it along is bound to have an impact on the other officers. A favorable joint cadre should be with states like Mizoram or Nagaland which have almost an equal size and population. At the same time the ongoing border tension with Assam is also a factor (that goes against the joint cadre system).” On the borrowed rules matter, he said, “I think this is silly, we tend to be Rip Van Winkle. It should have been inducted after the creation of the state.”