SHILLONG: A delegation of seven MLAs and two officials from Puducherry Legislative Assembly visited the sister committees of Public Accounts Committee and Estimates Committee of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly on Monday, to interact and understand the functioning of the Committees in the state.
Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Puducherry Legislative Assembly, R. Siva said that they had visited some of the places in the state to know of the livelihood and economic status of the people living in the state.
Translating for Siva was Secretary of Puducherry Assembly, A. Vincent Rayar who said, “We are happy to know that the government of Meghalaya has been helping the poor and downtrodden people in their livelihood support.”
“We enjoyed the trips here and we would the Meghalaya Assembly Committees to come to our state and experience the livelihood and economic status of the people of Puducherry,” he added.
Siva said that they came to know of that the Central Government was helping Meghalaya by providing 90 per cent of the development funds.
“In a small state Puducherry, though we have some resources, the government of India is not extending help to us financially as to the extent which is being given here,” he said.
“The Union Territory of Puducherry is facing financial crisis and after hearing that the government is helping to a large extent we may also take help from the government to help the Union Territory,” Rayar added.
The Chairmen informed that the Central government released 70 per cent of funds through loans and 30 per cent through grants.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Estimates Committee of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly, A. Anbalagan, said that he would share with the Puducherry government to implement certain things that were being implemented here.
“The schemes from the government of India are not going to all the sections of people and it is not being implemented uniformly to all people. There seems to be some discrepancies,” he said.
He claimed that the basic amenities of water, power, roads were not uniformly provided in all the villages in India.
Referring to the state of Meghalaya, he said that the status of the downtrodden and poor people in the villages was not fully developed.
He bemoaned the non-prevalence of toilet facilities, electricity, no proper drinking water in some areas and questioned as to whether uniform education is provided or not.
“We see that people seem to living below the Poverty Line. Government of India should pay more attention to the poverty alleviation of the tribal people here,” he said.
According to Anbalagan, the state government should bring it to the notice of the government of India to devise schemes so as for the upliftment of tribal people.
He also spoke on the consumption of tobacco by the people and that awareness should be given to people in this part.
The two Committees of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly were enlightened on the expansion of the airport project by Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of Meghalaya State Legislative Assembly.
