TURA: Jubilant by the decision of his employees to withdraw their ongoing stir, Chief Executive Member of GHADC Dipul R Marak has said that it is only through cooperation between the executive and the employees that solution to their problems can be sorted out.
“Non-Cooperation cannot bring any solution to the problems facing the district council, it is only through cooperation that we can work together and find ways to resolve our problems,” said the CEM while Speaking to The Shillong Times over phone on Friday evening.
He was returning from a meeting with Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma in Shillong.
“We held discussions with the state government to find ways to generate sufficient funds and ultimately it will be our council employees who will have to work in that direction. I have time and again invited them for discussion across the table about the current financial situation and I am happy they have finally responded,” said Dipul Marak.
He revealed that the only way possible for the GHADC to clear the backlog of pending salaries, which has touched 15 months, was to seek a bailout package because funds from royalty share that the council use to regularly receive from the state has already been exhausted.
“We will find ways to solve the problem. When I took over the GHADC six months ago, the previous EC headed by Boston Marak left behind only fifty thousand in the council treasury. Despite this acute fund shortage we, with support from the state government and chief minister Conrad Sangma, was able to clear four months of pending salaries of the employees,” narrated the CEM.
He mentioned that a sum of Rs 18 crore was obtained from the state government as royalty and another Rs.4.11 Crore from direct revenue collected by the district council.
“Out of the Rs 18 Crore was royalty from major mineral (15 Crore), minor mineral (1.15 Crore) and motor vehicle tax (2.26 Crore). We were also able to disburse additional money to the tune of Rs. 2.17 Crore for leave salary, gratuity and childrens’ loans that had been sanctioned way back in 2010 but were never disbursed by previous Executive Committees. We are trying our best to make the GHADC progress and ensure our employees are well looked,” a confident CEM Dipul Marak stated.