SHILLONG: District Council Affairs Minister, James Sangma has lamented that the number of employees in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council does not commensurate with the kind of revenue which is being collected by it and a lot of streamlining has to be done in this regard.
Talking to media persons after holding a meeting of the department with CEMs and EMs of the District Councils here on Wednesday, James Sangma said that the meeting also discussed about the robust recruitment rules and streamlining of finances to the autonomous district councils in the state.
It may be mentioned that several hundred employees of the GHADC have not been paid their salary for the last 16 months and the Council requires a whooping 80 crores of rupees to clear all pending salaries up to date
Terming it as unfortunate, Sangma said that the problem of pending salary did not emerged overnight and the problem existed since many years.
Expressing concern over the fact that employees are not being paid, he added that the Government was thinking of ways and means to clear all the pending dues though it was not an easy job.
Meanwhile, the meting which was also attended by the Law department also reviewed various rules of the district Councils which were framed as early as 1950s .
“ There are some sections which is in urgent need of review and if needed , it will be amended ,” the DCA Minister said while adding that suggestions on rules were sought from the different councils.
The rules which will be reviewed includes rules pertaining to elections, security deposit, Introduction of NOTA and expenditures in the Councils.
Sangma also said that the department was trying to bring certain uniformity to the rules of all the three district councils in the state.
Reacting to a query if the elections to the autonomous District Councils would be delayed due to pending amendment of the Sixth Schedule of the constitution, the DCA minister said that the work for the amendment was in progress and there was no fixed timelines as to when the amendments would be brought in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
“We will carry on with the exercise. Elections will be conducted and when the Sixth Schedule is amended, we will incorporate all those amendments,” James Sangma said.
He also said that the introduction of anti defection law in the autonomous District Councils is subjected to the amendment of the Sixth Schedule.