Editor,
I know it is common knowledge but let me repeat it anyway for this has now become quite popular on social media, and that is “Reading or listening to our Hon’ble Home Minister’s statements are always, “Oh so Entertaining.” Take for instance the statement he made on efforts to curb illegal coal mining (ST September 2,2022) where he purportedly claimed that 1. Monitoring illegal coal mining in remote areas is a challenge for the police 2. Policing in far flung areas is very difficult as it takes six to seven hours to reach such places. Apparently these statements were made to bolster Union Minister of Coal and Mines statement when he claimed in the Rajya Sabha that, “no coal production has been reported in Meghalaya for the last four years.” In its larger context however is the ban by both the Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal on the continued rat hole mining of coal in the State and the State Government’s observance of the same. There is strong suspicion that these orders have been honoured more in the breach than in the observance and that too by “Honorable powerful gentlemen” more keen in breaking the law than in making one.
Now let’s take the above two statements made by the Home Minister. Of course, all of us agree that it is extremely difficult if not impossible for policemen to trample and push their way through thick jungles in search of well-hidden coal mines. Our police are more in patrol cars and manning stationary check gates. So the question is why send them on a wild goose chase into the thick jungles when the job can easily be done on the roads and highway itself ? Illegal coal mining will automatically come to a halt if that same coal can’t reach its market. Now coal, as far as we know doesn’t have legs or wings to fly itself to such markets. It needs vehicles, specifically trucks to be economically viable, to carry the illegally mined coal to the market, and most astonishingly these trucks need roads to ply on. Now if police are already deployed on our roads, the illegally mined and transported coal can quite easily be stopped in its tracks on these roads. Result – illegal mining will automatically come to a halt! That’s the logical sequence! But what makes these statements of the Home Minister, as mentioned earlier, so very entertaining is that obviously officials in the Home Department can’t be all that dumb as not to have thought of such police enforcements on the road.
So ‘dal mein kuch kala hai,’ or as cops would say, “Man, this is an inside job” meaning there is someone from high up who is facilitating this illegal transportation of Meghalayan coal. Home Minister Sir, you might actually be sitting next to a cabinet colleague who is out to break the law! Surprised?
The Shillong Times on the same day carried another statement again by our Hon’ble Home Minister and this time it was in relation with the “It’s a Scam, No it’s not a scam” war of words that has broken out over a the report of the fact finding police team constituted by the current DGP. The report damned an AIG (Administration) for massive irregularities. The reaction of the Home Minister to the demand for immediate action against the accused AIG is intriguing if not completely bewildering. ‘There should not be any knee jerk reaction,’ advises the HM. Fine! But what about the Chief Minister who had equivocally responded in a typical knee jerk, off the cuff manner that there was, “No Scam.” How does he know? By Instinct? Then simply look at the panic, alarm and apparent loss of nerve the news report on the matter has caused in some quarters. There’s definitely more to it than meets the eye and the apparent involvement of higher officers has also surfaced and red herrings are being strewn all over the place.
We the public need to know. So why this attempt to drag the case; delay the investigations and the need to sweep it under the carpet? It’s the senior police officers themselves who first reported the scam. They must have found something beyond tolerance; something incriminatingly disgusting to have provoked them to such an uproar of a report against one of their own. Trying to delay or throw the public off the scent, in this case, can be quite costly to the UDP, which is fast being seen as a close abettor to the crimes and scams by the MDA Government.
Seek clarifications; serve show cause notices; study the report if you must but also take immediate action to ensure that evidence is not tampered by compromised parties. Remove the accused from the scene. Frankly speaking the reading public is suspicious of a high level cover up attempt and so far their suspicions seem to be well founded.
Yours etc.,
Toki Blah,
Via email
Unemployment in Meghalaya after 50 years of statehood
Editor,
Much has been written in these columns about the sorry state of affairs in Meghalaya today vis a vis the performance of the various government departments. It would be fair to state that the present scenario is due to the failure of successive governments to deliver and come up with a road map for sustainable development. The present government assumed charge in 2018 amid high expectations. Unfortunately, it had to deal with a range of issues, agitations, allegations of corrupt practices and illegalities, controversies and the unprecedented corona pandemic which have derailed the governance.
Among the problems affecting our state is lack of infrastructure especially in surface and air connectivity, health care, education, power and water supply in addition to others like influx, border disputes, traffic congestion in Shillong, farmers’ and teachers’ plight, garbage disposal and unemployment. This letter aims to only highlight on unemployment which is a very serious issue in our state. RTI queries have revealed that there are many vacancies under various government departments. It is also a well-known fact that a large number of contractual staff are being engaged by government departments and undertakings. But there seems to be little effort to fill up the aforesaid posts.
The central government has recently announced a massive recruitment drive to be completed within the next few months. We also read about similar exercise by the Assam government. The situation in Meghalaya however, is not encouraging. In general, there is undue delay by the MPSC and the DSCs to carry out the recruitment process which causes anxiety and frustration among the youth. It is undeniable that lack of employment opportunities gives rise to unrest and insurgency. On Meghalaya’s 50th years it would be befitting for the government to expedite the recruitment process by holding special recruitment drives to fill up the different grades of posts lying vacant. This will be a boon to our job aspirants and bring smiles to thousands of families. However, it is important to ensure transparency and fairness while conducting the examinations so that deserving candidates are selected.
In conclusion, I sincerely hope that this letter receives the attention it deserves. Furthermore, the Golden Jubilee year should be an occasion to reflect on the achievements and failures of successive governments in Meghalaya. Observing and celebrating this through various events should not distract the government and the people from the various pending issues and unfinished tasks. It would be prudent for the government to review outdated and flawed policies and come up with strategic action plans for various departments to transform the state. All said and done, efforts should be made to root out corruption, exploitation, nepotism and ensure transparency, good work culture and accountability. Otherwise, we are staring at a bleak future with no respite for the common man.
Yours etc.,
J. Lyngdoh,
Via email