By H H Mohrmen
After being in the seat of power for over four years, the MDA-led government has made public its own report card. While there is not much to cheer about in the report, yet one must be fair to the MDA government in that its performance was hampered by the lockdowns due to the pandemic. COVID-19 has indeed brought almost everything to a grinding halt for almost two years. But still the performance of the state government is below par when compared with that of the other states in the country.
When the High Court has to intervene in governance matters
The non-performance of the MDA government or rather the unexpected performance of the government in the case of coal mining and export to be more precise became crystal clear when the High Court had to intervene on the issue. The government should be ashamed that the High Court has to intervene not only in matters related to coal, but on other issues too. The other case where the court had to intervene is the failure of the Jowai Municipal Board and the District Administration to collect the garbage generated by the people of Jowai for more than a year now. This only goes to prove that the performance of the state government is not at all satisfactory.
NPP’s Relationship with its partners in the MDA
The MDA has almost reached the end of its term of office but sadly, the relation between NPP and its partners seems to have hit rock bottom. They seem to have differences on the settlement of the interstate border dispute and also on how to solve the Them ïewmawlong issue. But the sad part is that the NPP is not fair to its partners as the regional parties which are in the coalition government are at the receiving end of the stick. Did the partners receive fair share of the spoils from the government with regards to money collected from illegal transport of coal and the numerous check gates along the highway, is a very important question.
Permanent Party Office
The regional parties in the state, some of which are as old as the state itself are functioning from rented accommodations. Till date they do not even have a permanent party office of their own, but the NPP which is less than a decade old, has already given itself a plot of land for construction of its party’s office. The plush NPP office is being constructed on government land in a prime location of Shillong. It is true that we cannot find fault with the NPP for building its own party office except for the fact that it was constructed on government land in the prime locality of the state capital. But the question for the leaders of the regional parties particularly the two prominent parties in the state which are much older than the NPP is – does it not occur to them that they have been taken for a ride by their junior partner?
How can we trust the regional parties which claim that they love the jaidbynriew and the state, when obviously they do not even love their own party? If the leaders of parties like the HSPDP and the UDP do not see the need for having their own permanent office even after they have existed for decades, then that speaks a lot about the leadership in these parties. To state what is already obvious, it looks like they are only interested in their individual progress and care very little for their respective parties. They are only interested in winning the next election and do not care even if their parties cease to exist by the next election. This is how selfish our politicians in the regional parties are and yet they claim that they remain in the party because they have principles to maintain.
The Them ïewmawlong issue
The MDA government has all along hoped to be able to relocate the people who live in the disputed area and solve the issue once and for all, but it looks like this matter is not going anywhere now. The demand made by the community currently living in the area during its meeting with the state government is what contributes to the matter reaching a stalemate now. In this case the government is in a ‘between the devil and the deep sea,’ like situation. If the government agrees to their demand they will be seen as appeasing the community and if they don’t, there will be no solution to the issue.
The Inter-state border issue
The other issue that the MDA government had hoped to solve is the inter-state border dispute with Assam. This issue which both the Chief Ministers claim has the irrevocable seal of the Union Home Minister is being opposed by different sections of the population. From the people who live in the disputed area, to the Hima and Raid and even the Khasi Hills District Council all are against the agreement signed by the two chief ministers. The people who are opposed to the settlement are of the opinion that it is a complete sell-out as the state of Meghalaya only gives and does not receive anything in return. For example the state say that we are getting Ratacherra in East Jañtia hills, but the truth is Ratacherra was never a disputed area. It is also a matter of surprise that the KSU which is against the demand of the community in Them ïewmawlong to be resettled elsewhere, has maintained a stoic silence with regards to the Inter-state border issue.
Allegations made by the MPCC President
Serious damage to the settlement of the dispute was done by the statement made by the Meghalaya Congress President and Lok Sabha MP Vincent H Palawho (without naming anybody) alleged that the settlement was only agreed upon to benefit certain powerful people who are at the helm of power in the state. He alleged that the reallocation of portfolios of the Department of Urban Affairs was also made so that the building by-laws in the state can be changed to suit the deal. If the allegation is true then the maximum number of storeys in a building that can be constructed in the state has been increased from Ground plus four to Ground plus nine. In layman’s language now anybody can construct a ten-storeyed building in the state. If this is indeed the case then what about the oft repeated fact that Meghalaya is located in a very sensitive seismic zone? Is it true that the building bye-laws were amended just to accommodate the ten-storeyed buildings located in the disputed area that a certain powerful individual in the state has acquired?
What the Deputy Chief Minister didn’t say is important
In his response to the state Congress president’s allegation, Deputy Chief Minister, Prestone Tynsong not only voluntarily named the family but put his foot in his mouth when he also said that Pala made these allegations out of jealousy because the family are much richer than him now. But what Prestone Tynsong did not say is that it is now clear that the MLAs of the NPP are in the government to enrich themselves only. They are in the government to get richer by the day even if it means bending the laws to suit their interests.
Las Vegas of the East
This government instead of trying to hold on to the land in the border with Guwahati and make them extensions of Meghalaya into Guwahati just like Haryana and UP did with the National Capital Region of Delhi, is instead giving it up for a song. No doubt it is a complete sellout of prime locations while only holding on to a piece of land where an incomplete hotel stands. Like a deck of cards the government’s plans started tumbling down and from reports in the press, it now appears that the government is also planning to provide a license for starting a casino in the hotel. Now Meghalaya has already legalized Thoh tim or Teer which is one form of gambling, the state also has large numbers of wine stores and now we are going to allow open gambling in casinos. The government says that the casinos will only cater to the tourists who visit the state. In short, the government is saying that the state will have two rules – one for the tourists and one for the locals. One for the area in the vicinity of Guwahati and another for the rest of the state; is that even legal?