By Patricia Mukhim
“In the case of Meghalaya the law has been violated to the point that a section of the enforcers of the rule of law have become a laughing stock. Where the High Court had directed that trucks carrying load beyond certain capacity would not cross the now feeble Umiam bridge we see the 16 tyre trailer trucks struggling up the Mawiong to Mawlai road crossing the Umiam bridge, obviously after paying money to some cop.”
The acts of omission and commission of the MDA Government have been astutely brought out by the Meghalaya High Court in its latest order pertaining to illegal coal mining and transportation in the State. Since illegal coal mining has happened much before the present DGP and Chief Secretary had taken over their respective posts, it would be appropriate to surmise that those who sat in those respective chairs in the past years since the NGT ban on coal mining should also be held liable. Never have such flagrant violations of legal directives happened in the past when there was yet some semblance of the rule of law. Since 2018 this rule of law has eroded rapidly. Every person in Meghalaya knows and sees that truckloads of coal are being carried out of the state on a daily basis and they all smirk at the fact that police are part of the racket in allowing the trucks to pass unchecked and unhindered. The previous Home Minister who also held Power Department lost both his portfolios on account of this blatant disregard for the rule of law in both Departments. Power then went to the Deputy CM and Home to the Education Minister who now seems to have bungled big time on both departments.
The present Home Minister continues to turn a blind eye to illegal transportation of coal. In fact, those privy to inside information, mainly coal transporters say that the cost paid per truck for being allowed to illegally transport coal has only gone up under this Home Minister. This same Home Minister also turns a blind eye to the vehicle scam in his Department and keeps dishing out alibi about there needing to be more substantive evidence against the earlier AIG (A), GK Iangrai who worked under the direct supervision of the retired DGP as his staff officer. There is almost a sort of conspiracy to waylay the enquiry report into the infamous vehicle scam. And this in a Department meant to ensure the rule of law! There cannot be a more egregious violation of the rule book than this! How does the State then expect to implement the fundamental laws that govern an orderly society?
The rule of law constitutes the basic and general principles of the Constitution. It is characterized in the words of Max Weber as – “legal domination as an idea of government of law rather than an idea of men.’ In essence therefore the rule of law means that everyone from the government to its officials, together with citizens should act according to the law. Where the rule of law prevails no person can be said to be above the law, even the functions and actions of the executive organ of the state (the government) shall be within the ambit of the law.
In the case of Meghalaya the law has been violated to the point that a section of the enforcers of the rule of law have become a laughing stock. Where the High Court had directed that trucks carrying load beyond certain capacity would not cross the now feeble Umiam bridge we see the 16 tyre trailer trucks struggling up the Mawiong to Mawlai road crossing the Umiam bridge, obviously after paying money to some cop. A section of the police are so morally decrepit that everyone knows they can be bribed yet no punitive action has ever been taken against any corrupt cop so far, including in the latest case where the officer is guilty not only in one scam but a series of them. One begins to wonder at the hesitance of the Government to take stringent action against this officer. What does he have which is so volatile Government has to defend him and even elevate him to a post he is least worthy to hold.
The presence of one such person in the Police Department is demoralising for several others who have entered the profession with the desire to serve and give their best to the profession. In fact, we have quite a few who have been in the frontline of fighting insurgency at its height. One needs to question why all these performing cops were side-lined during the tenure of the former DGP. Obviously this also demoralises the entire force. It’s like a vendetta mission against all the performing cops and they have been replaced by those who would ‘toe the line.’ Several people who know that money has exchanged hands for postings and transfers of constables to the beats of their choice have also started speaking up except that they have no hard evidence to produce to nail the corrupt since exchange of money between people is always a secret deal.
In a statement given by the PDF MLA and Minister for Sports and Agriculture said both his departments are free from controversy and that the onus for all the scams that have surfaced under the MDA must be the on the bigger party in the coalition – the NPP. This minister is obviously unaware of the concept of collective responsibility. None of the coalition partners in the MDA Government – the NPP, UDP, PDF, HSPDP, NCP, BJP are free from blame. They are all part of a corrupt system and they have all remained apathetic onlookers.
A cursory glance at the Budget of Meghalaya 2022-23 would raise very serious concerns. On the liability side the loans taken or to be taken from the open market is to the tune of Rs 11,000 crores. There are also loans granted by NABARD and other agencies. Government officials feel there is nothing to worry about open market loans since they are under-written by Government of India. But what happens if the loans are recalled by the lending agencies which they will do at some point considering the recessionary trends that have hit the entire world. It would also be interesting to know where all the money from open market borrowings are being deployed.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma is in a money distribution spree in the façade of all kinds of schemes. Where is all this money coming from and why does cash have to be distributed to different people and groups? Isn’t this an election-winning gimmick? It clearly is! What will farmers do with a one-time pre-election gift of Rs 5000?
The state also has a gender budget but whether that is even understood by the Departments implementing various schemes is doubtful. Women heading households single-handedly are given Rs 500 a month. How far does Rs 500 go in this world of high inflation? Clearly there is a huge gap between budget making and the situation on the ground.
There are many who sigh that if this government with its partners returns in 2023, Meghalaya is headed for disaster but they don’t see the alternatives emerging clearly as yet. Have we really arrived at a point when we have to re-elect a bunch of oligarchs whose wealth ranking has gone up substantially in the last four years? How have the human development indices been in these last four years? Have they gone up or has there been a downslide? Remember that development is not just about infrastructure. Without the development of the human person, material development is a sham. That sort of development is aimed at diverting funds to private pockets since every road or building project involves a cut.
The very fact that the NPP cocks a snook at all allegations of scams and decides to give the party ticket to an engineer who supervised the construction of the Meghalaya Assembly building is in itself a callous expression of the arrogance of power.
Absolute power does corrupt absolutely!