Rejoinder – BDO Mylliem Block

Editor,

Apropos the Letter to the Editor under the caption “Much ado about MGNREGS” written

by Philip Marwein and published in the Shillong Times on December 4, 2020, the BDO Mylliem C&RD Block would like to clarify as under:-

1. Apropos the allegation in the letter that there was favouritism to Umlyngka by the Block in which 93 Work Orders were issued during 2017-18 and 2018-19 for a bulk of works/projects, it may be brought to the notice of all concerned that MGNREGA is a demand-driven programme where provision of work is triggered by the demand for work by wage-seekers and allocation of funds is based on the number of Job Cards in each of the Village Employment Council. As far as sanction of projects in Umlyngka is concerned, the VEC has demanded work for implementation of multiple projects and the village has a very high number of Job Cards i.e. about 781 (seven hundred eighty one), and which therefore resulted in allocation of huge amounts of funds. Hence, the allegation that there was favouritism is false, baseless and it indicates that the writer/person who made such allegation is not aware of the scheme.
2. Apropos the allegation in the letter that the BDO Mylliem C&RD Block being the supervising authority did not take appropriate and timely action when he was informed about the murky affairs in implementation of the schemes in Umlyngka, it may be clarified herewith that, hitherto, the RTI activists namely Agnes Kharshiing and Doria Shabong have  not registered any complaint(s) with the Block Office against anomalies in implementation of MGNREGA at Umlyngka, other than- (1) Filing of RTI applications, to which the Block Office had replied accordingly; and (2) Complaint against dual Job Cardholders, to which the matter had been disposed of accordingly. Therefore, the afore-mentioned allegation is false, baseless and unfounded. However, had any complaint(s) been registered officially against anomalies in implementation of the scheme, the BDO Mylliem C&RD Block would have taken necessary action in due course as per laid down office procedures.

The BDO Mylliem C&RD Block is always committed to bring transparency and

accountability and he is fully responsible and answerable for any lapse/wrongdoing. However, unfounded allegations are highly unfortunate, uncalled for and must be completely ignored.

Yours etc,               

    (Shri. P.T. Passah, MCS),

  Block Development Officer,

MylliemC&RDBlock,  

  5^th Mile Upper Shillong.

When the soul speaks

Editor,

I am writing to say I was deeply moved by the wonderful letter in The Shillong Times (ST Dec 3, 2020), written by Bertha G. Dkhar (Padma Shri). Both in her soulful language and her soulful substance she expresses that secret universality that threads all living beings (at least all human beings) in invisible threads of empathy. To my ears, her words were like refreshing waters in a desert, or soothing music with the power to redeem all communal cacophony in Meghalaya. Indeed, a heroic life can hardly conceal its inner luminosity. It shines through the words and gestures of a great soul.

Thank you for publishing this letter.

Yours etc.,

Deepa Majumdar

Via email

KSU should know priorities

Editor,

Over the course of years, the demand for ILP has come up from time-to-time. While it is necessary to have cultural conservation, issues, such as employment, economic growth, youth empowerment, safety for women, uplifting living standards for the rural folk, have been long standing issues for our state. An ILP, even if it controls influx, will still not solve such issues. I am saddened that people like me are forced to go out of the state to look out for better opportunities because they don’t exist in the state. These are more pertinent issues and it brings to question, when will the KSU protest as vehemently for these issues as they do for the ILP?

It is no secret that we borrow heavily from the Centre for sustaining our expenditures. Do we not want to find sources to generate our own revenue? Is this not of concern to the KSU? As a Khasi, I have never found the KSU fervently protesting for the rights of our people, who till date undergo various afflictions. During COVID, not one headline came up where the KSU went out of its way to help the rural folk and the poor. Tuning up aggression, if not for the right reasons, is not warranted. Our society needs to proceed with development. Enough of political agenda!

Besides, now that the state will (hopefully) implement the MRSSA to check influx, does the KSU even know why this still warrants the ILP?

Yours etc.,

Patrick Kurbah

Bengaluru