TURA: Hundreds of employees of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) may have to go without salary for some time as the council’s efforts to get the royalty for coal came a cropper.
The State government has diverted the Rs 18 crore in royalty, which was due to GHADC, to repay the advance amount that was withdrawn by the previous Congress-led Executive Committee (EC) before the last year’s Council polls.
“We had completed all necessary paper works to get our share of the coal royalty when the State government informed that the Rs 18 crore was being adjusted to pay for the advance that had been drawn by the previous Congress Executive Committee,” said CEM Denang T Sangma.
The GHADC employees, who have not received their salary for around 10 months, have been threatening to go on strike from next week.
Sangma said the district council would require an additional Rs 4 crore since the total amount withdrawn by the previous EC was Rs 22 crore. “We will have more deductions from the forest royalty until the remaining Rs 4 crore is cleared, it was pointed out to us by the government officials,” he added.
The previous Congress-led Executive Committee came under criticism after it withdrew crores of rupees from the Council’s exchequer before the 2015 GHADC election. The Congress lost the election to NPP and its allies who went on to form the new EC in the GHADC.
Meanwhile, the Council turned down the employees’ demand for a one-time payment of Rs 10,000 to tide over their financial difficulties. “We decided against it because there is no rule that permits such an advance. Instead, we can try and give them their arrears and we are working on that,” said Sangma.
Deputy CEM Augustine R Marak is reportedly in Shillong to try and obtain the Council’s share of Rs 2.5 crore from minor minerals. The district council needs Rs 4 crore each month against salary payments.
