Friday, March 29, 2024
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Damming Our Future

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Editor,

Umngot River, the cleanest and the most beautiful river in India is being converted to a Dam. To the Government these dams are a symbol of mega achievement but to the people who are displaced, these monsters mean emptiness of existence. The construction of this dam is not only against the people but also against the advice of ecologists, geologists and activists. Being a major tourist attraction, it is a major source of livelihood for the locals and it is also used to irrigate agricultural land in the villages upstream. The plan of the Government is to build a hydro-electric dam by the MeECL (Meghalaya Energy Cooperation Limited) in one of the most important rivers. Yes it’ll will generate more electricity but there is no telling that the project will succeed. Building a  dam increases the possibility of floods in the area, ruining the agricultural land and the people who depend on it.

Above all, this project would affect the biodiversity and ecosystems of the forest nearby and the local fisheries will lose habitat. Being a major tourist spot and a source of irrigation, building a dam would make the lives of the locals harder, the effect would be felt far away in Dawki where the risk of the dam drying up during the winters would cost a great problem to their livelihoods. We should not allow the Government to turn India’s cleanest river to a catastrophe. So far the locals have been protesting successfully despite the pandemic, risking their lives. But the Government seems to be paying no heed. Let’s not forget that the Government is for and by the people. And we as the people will continue to fight against this dreadful decision and together we will stop it.

Yours etc;

Lyzander.E.Sohkhlet,

Via email

Rejoinder from AIBOC

 

Editor

Apropos to the editorial ‘Bank holiday imbroglio’ (ST April 15, 2021), I would like to clarify, certain points and bust some myths regarding Banks and Bank Holidays.

Point No. 1: The Government of Meghalaya publishes a Holiday List every year. It comes in two parts Annexure I & II. Under Annexure I, in 2021, (No. GAA.88/2020/48 dated 09.12.2021) apart from 23 General Holidays, there are 3 (maximum) Local Holidays which the Deputy Commissioner can declare within their respective jurisdictions, except for East Khasi Hills where the GAD (A) department will declare the Local Holidays. Shad Suk Mynsiem is one of the holidays listed in the Holiday List qualifying for declaration of Local Holiday. Again, as part of Annexure I, there is a provision of Special Holiday in 6 districts of Meghalaya for Rev. Thomas Jones Day on June 22, 2021. Then comes the list of 10 Restricted Holidays in addition to the above referred holidays under Annexure I, out of which employees can avail any 2. This would effectively mean that the State Government gets 23 General Holidays + 2 Local Holidays +1 Special Holiday + 2 Restricted Holidays, totaling to 28, and adding 52 Saturdays and 52 Sundays, it would stand at 132 days, i.e., 233 working days for the State Government (63.83% of a year). This is just for the sake of comparison, without any prejudice to the employees.

Point No. 2: Bank Holidays are declared separately by the GAD (A) department under Annexure II, under the NI act 1881. It may be kept in mind that being a separate Annexure altogether, Bank Holidays have no bearing on the provisions of Annexure I, especially regarding Special Holidays and Restricted Holidays. In fact, the very statement in the above referred Editorial that “For all other festivals the Banks under the Negotiable Instrument (NI) Act declares Restricted Holidays” is a myth, because (a) Banks cannot declare their own holidays and (b) the very concept of Restricted Holidays does not apply to Banks.  As a logical corollary of this fact, the other statement in the Editorial that “Bank employees and others governed by the NI Act can avail two Restricted Holidays with the prior permission of their organization” is also factually incorrect. The “organisation” referred to in the Editorial, has no power to declare a holiday, not to speak about “prior permission”.

Point No. 3: The Reserve Bank of India is a regulator of Banks and Banking and has no authority to declare any holidays, not even its own. Hence the suggestion to AIBOC to approach the RBI is well taken but bereft of practicality, hence untenable.

Point No. 4: In Meghalaya, in 2021, Annexure II of the above referred No. GAA.88/2020/48 dated December 9, 2021 there are 22 Holidays declared separately under the NI Act. These 22, plus 24 second and fourth Saturdays and 52 Sundays would mean 98 days of holidays for Banks and not the mythical 123 holidays as per the editorial.  Out of the 22 holidays declared in Annexure II, 5 are forfeited as they are falling either on a fourth Saturday or a Sunday, further reducing actual holiday count to 93. Effectively Banks are working 73.15 % of the year). It would perhaps also not be out of place to mention here that during the height of the lockdown in 2020 when pretty much everything else was closed/worked on skeletal/roster basis, Bank employees across all cadres were in the frontline, not shutting down for even a single day, in service to the public despite being at risk of contracting the virus. The average ATM availability percentage of SBI in and around Shillong from April 2020 to September 2020 (major lockdown period) was 95.38 %, one among the highest in India. This was possible due to Bank employees working 24x7x365. Moreover, a visit to any Bank branch will reveal that there are no fixed or regulated working hours and Bank employees can be seen at their desks even at 8.00 pm on any given day. Exigencies of service also make it necessary for many Bankers to ignore holidays and go to work on a fairly regular basis.

 

Point No. 5: Again, just for the sake of comparison and without any prejudice, Central Government employees are privy to 123 holidays (17 General Holidays+2 Restricted Holidays +52 Saturdays and 52 Sundays). The Capital Markets all over India remain closed on all Saturdays and Sundays in addition to all major festivals. In the United States, they have 10 general holidays plus 104 Saturday/Sundays, in Germany 15 plus 104 Saturday/Sundays, and in Italy, 24 General Holidays plus 104 Saturday/Sundays. In France, Offices have a 35-hour working week only.

Yours etc.,

Davis Lyngdoh

Organising Secretary

AIBOC

Meghalaya State Unit

Freedom of political expression

Editor,

The letter to the editor ‘UDP Riposte to allegation of hypocrisy,’ by Jemino Mawthod is expected. Albert Thyrniang’s editorial ‘UDP’s blatant hypocrisy’ had hit the bull’s eye and it has hurt the UDP. From a neutral point I would agree on most of the points raised by Mr Albert. The UDP is part of the coalition and should have taken collective responsibility rather than indulging in pointing fingers. The mess in the power sector in our state is deep-rooted and it will not take only a fortnight to solve it. Even if the UDP General Secretary is in charge of the Power sector he will not be able to solve the woes in a limited time. Interestingly the UDP MLAs did not have any problem with the Power minister but it is their ex- MLAs that are vocal against him. Even the UDP President seems to be in a state of confusion. In politics you have to take advantage of the hot issues; you have to make your presence felt especially when you have lost the election otherwise you become irrelevant. There is nothing wrong in indulging in political opportunism and there is no law in India that forbids it, but the general public are smart enough, and the just concluded GHADC elections is a perfect example of the smartness of the electorate. Criticism is part and parcel of democracy and politicians should also learn to accept criticism. Threatening the public that criticize your party as BM Lanong has done is a clear sign of weak leadership and is totally unacceptable and unpardonable in a democracy like ours. Are we living in a state where freedom of political expression is under siege?

Yours etc

Manuel Carey Lymba

Shillong 08.

 

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