JOWAI: The Khliehriat Town Committee has become almost defunct due to lack of funds and its employees have been working without salary for more than 11 months now.
Funds from the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council stopped coming to the committee, which was supposed to look into the development of Khliehriat, the headquarters of East Jaintia Hills District, in 2013 soon after the election of ward commissioners.“I have been elected as a ward commissioner thrice and since the last election, we never received any funds from the JHADC,” said Laskiboy Swer, ward commissioner of Khliehriat West.
According to Swer, before 2013, the JHADC had sanctioned office maintenance schemes and development schemes of Rs 2 lakh a year but the fund was irregular.
“For 11 months now, our staff is working without salary,” he told The Shillong Times.
The committee had got one waste disposal vehicle from JHADC that was bought with contributions from residents and a dumper truck donated by former MLA Nehlang Lyngdoh.
The employees had approached the JHADC several times but the requests fell on deaf ears.
The headman of Khliehriat West, Lang Bareh, said the committee has helped villagers in the past but now it has become a ghost department and the JHADC’s step-motherly attitude has affected the public and the Dorbar Shnong.
