Editor,
Years ago and more frequently during the recent months, the question of setting up of the Central Agricultural University (CAU) in Meghalaya has come up in the local papers, and some politicians tried to claim credit as if the said University is going to come up due to their own efforts. The fact, however, is that we have missed the opportunity offered on a silver platter.
As Secretary, Government Meghalaya, I was holding the charge of Agriculture Department for five long years from 1990 till December 1995 when I was promoted and transferred as Commissioner & Secretary. Since, I still remember something about the University proposed to be set up in the state, let me try to let the public know what had gone wrong.
If I remember correctly, it was way back in 1985 when, without our asking, the Central Government offered to set up the Central Agricultural University in Meghalaya, with campuses of different disciplines in neighboring states. It was indeed a special and specific offer for our state. To look into the proposal, a Cabinet Committee was formed. By the time I took charge of the Department, it appears, the Committee had already had three sittings, but it is not known what transpired in the meeting as no proceedings were recorded.
The views of different departments such as Personnel, Planning, and Finance etc. departments were also sought for. They agreed on one point: that the state had no manpower of its own to fill up technical posts particularly at the higher and top levels. As such, setting up of the said University would lead to influx of scientists and other staffs as well from outside the state. That, to my opinion, threw a spanner in the works and derailed the whole idea of setting up the University in the state.
From time to time, the Central Government reminded the State Government if it was willing to accept the proposal. In the meanwhile, some neighboring states were vying for the University in their state with offers of land for the purpose. As our Government showed no keenness and was procrastinating, the Central Government finally and perhaps reluctantly yielded to the demand of the Manipur Government, and the University was set up in Imphal under the Central Agricultural University Act, 1992.
Even after this the Central Government had a soft corner for Meghalaya and offered for setting up of the Post-graduate Centre in pure Agriculture in the state. To be able to make a concrete response, efforts were made to find suitable land for the purpose. But to find required amount of land for such a purpose in Meghalaya is next to impossible. We approached the then Director of ICAR, Barapani, if the ICAR could spare some of its land for the purpose. He said that the Post-graduate Centre would require much land particularly for Demonstration Farms, and the ICAR itself was already short of land to meet its requirement.
Then it was time for me to leave the Agriculture Department but I kept no track of what transpired afterwards. What I can say now is – we were petty minded, short-sighted, we woke up too late, and thereby missed the golden opportunity to have the University. I am not sure if we sincerely need it now or are just trying to make a noise. In any event, we are ourselves to blame ourselves and there is no point in crying hoarse now.
Yours etc.,
H.Chinkhenthang (IAS Retd),
Ex-Principal Secretary,
Government of Meghalaya.
Municipal Board and its entanglements
Editor,
The Shillong Municipal Board at this very juncture seems to be caught in a dilemma as to what is the next course of action that it can resort to, considering the precarious situation it is in; with many associations and groups taking the Board to the Judiciary, for every action it has taken. The Municipal Board because of the plethora of litigations against it has now taken a back seat, and more so because of the various delegations seeking intervention of authorities, by citing issues such as human rights among others, which has indeed driven the Board to reverse gear rather than forward.
A year ago the city was brought to a complete standstill in the aftermath of an incongruous incident between two communities. However, the high point of the imbroglio is that the 20 odd days of standoff only resulted in maximum injuries (barring the rioters) caused to officials of police department, and since the return to normalcy nothing concrete has emerged. As we all know, as of today there are two areas within Shillong City which are being occupied by the Sikh (Punjab) Community, i.e. in Laitumkhrah (also known as Sweepers Lane or Gora Line near Lumsohra) and one is in Iew Mawlong. Both these areas have been inhabited by this community a long time ago but the crux of the matter that needs to be addressed is that, both these areas were allotted to employees of Municipal Board who were employed for cleaning the wards falling under Municipal areas and not for renting, subletting or any other activities. This sadly is not the case, which is evident when one passes by these areas.
The efforts of the Board to relocate the residents of the contentious area seems to have hit a dead end, because a simple action as preparing of inventories could not be completed even after a year, and no one knows as to how many more attempts it will take for them to complete the required task. The idea of relocating the residents is dawning as an improbable reality, as the Board is not as equipped as compared to Nayagoan Municipal Council of Punjab which has issued demolition notices on December 27, 2018 to the owners of at least 60 houses in Singha Devi, a locality next to the Shivalik Hills in Mohali District, to pave way for a road from neighbouring Nada village to Kaimbwala, Chandigarh or as the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) which had razed to the ground around 70 pucca houses, all illegally constructed, during a demolition drive at Behlolpur village located behind the Civil Hospital, Phase 6, in Mohali (Punjab) on February 11, 2019.
Perhaps the Shillong Municipal Board needs to learn from them as to how it was possible for these authorities to facilitate development through demolition without violating human rights. The Board has already given the community two plots of land in the heart of the city, and if successful will be giving them some more land after relocation. Perhaps before swimming in deep waters, the Board can plan proper housing systems in the already available land within Laitumkhrah, prior to parting with another land of theirs, which in the years to come may also drag the Board into peril and litigations, thus becoming a déjà vu all over again.
Yours etc.,
B S Lator,