Editor,
Apropos of the letter written by Avner Medon Pariat in your newspaper under the caption, “ Fiscal Profligacy of the MDA-2 Government (ST February 28, 2024) I, the undersigned, for and on behalf of my client Dr. Aman Warr, R/o Shillong, Meghalaya, would like to inform you that several baseless, misleading and concocted statements were made against, my client in above letter.
As such, I would like to clarify the following points in such regard, which
1. That the allegation that my client holds the position as a Board Member of Mawmluh Cherra Cement Ltd. (MCCL) is entirely false, incorrect and misconstrued.
2. That presently, my client does not hold the post of Chairman/ Vice Chairman and/or any Board Member and/or any other analogous post(s) in the Mawmluh Cherra Cement Ltd. and/or in the Government of Meghalaya.
3. That my client am a retired Government employee, who last served as the Director of Health Services (MI), without any adversity or complaints.
4. That after his retirement from service, my client had contested the General Election to the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly 2023, from the North Shillong (ST) LAC, however unfortunately, he was not successful.
5. That nevertheless, till date, my client am working tirelessly for the welfare of the citizens of the state of Meghalaya in his own personal capacity and to the best of his ability.
It is very shocking that the author, viz., Avner Medon Pariat, has made such false and misleading statements against my client in the media without initially verifying the actual facts, and the same only goes to show that the said false and misleading statements were made with oblique motive to deceive the public and with vested interest to gain undue political mileage. It is quite apparent and obvious that the author of the said defamatory article has made such baseless and concocted allegations only to satisfy his own pseudo intellect. Needless to say, the current MDA 2.0 is moving in the right direction and my client wishes the State Government the very best!
It is all the more shocking and surprising that such false and misleading statements have been published in your newspaper as well as on your official website, without prior verification of the actual and correct facts and the same is also in contravention to the applicable Journalistic norms.
Therefore, the undersigned requests you to immediately publish the aforementioned clarificatory facts in your newspaper and further, not publish any such concocted articles/ statements against my client without prior verification of the actual and correct facts from him. This is for your information and necessary action,
Yours etc.,
Ms. N. Rajee,
Advocate High Court of Meghalaya Bar Association,
Shillong -1
(The Editor Replies)
1. At the outset, a letter to the editor is not a view of the newspaper and nor is it a news report as alleged. The disclaimer clearly says that the newspaper is not responsible for the views expressed by the public since the ‘Letters to the Editor’ space is provided for readers and concerned members of the public to air their views.
2. The above letter was sent along with the list of 188 appointees of the MDA-2 Government of which Dr Aman War has been shown to have been appointed as Vice Chairman Commerce & Industries Department (Mawmluh Cherra Cements Ltd) in Category ‘A’ which the writer Avner Medon Pariat obtained from government sources.
3. The Office Memorandum No FEM 44/2003/Pt-II/264 of the Government of Meghalaya dated August 17, 2023 signed by the Chief Minister who is also the Finance Minister had also revised the perks and facilities of the Chairmen/Co-Chairmen/Vice Chairmen/Deputy Chairmen detailing what they are entitled to per month with honorarium, POL, Conveyance allowance, Medical benefits, Telephone, TA/DA, House rent, Furnishing of house, Maintenance of furniture, Electricity allowance , Free accommodation or House rent, Driver, Office space either at the Secretariat or a designated space outside the Secretariat.
4. If Dr Aman Warr had not accepted the appointment nor availed the above facilities he could have made the information public. After the letter was published Dr Warrcould have sent a rejoinder which this newspaper would have published instead of resorting to legal means to address his grievances.
‘A food-deficit state’ & farmers’ uplift in Meghalaya
Editor,
As a follow-up to the letters and articles of Salil Gewali, Patricia Mukhim and others on the problems and hardships faced by farmers especially marginal farmers, in our State, I would like to offer a few suggestions on how to help them alleviate their sufferings and help improve their agricultural activity thereby increasing their income.
The current agitation by farmers in India, notably north India, to demand among other issues a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP) from the government to protect them against exploitation by middlemen, should be extended to the farmers of our state who are often at the mercy of middlemen and deprived of the true value for their produce. I’m glad that this issue is also being taken up by the Hills Farmers’ Union of the State
The importance of launching a co-operative farming movement for medium and small agricultural land holdings to allow them to avail of mechanised farming equipment and other facilities that will help reduce the cost and improve productivity cannot be overemphasized.
The role of the state to set up warehousing and cold storage facilities in strategic centres/locations to help the bargaining powers of the farmers to sell their produce at their price, is an important step and for which the Government of Meghalaya, as per media reports, is on the job, hopefully.
There is need to encourage farmers to shift to terrace cultivation to prevent soil erosion among other benefits derived from this method of cultivation.
The target set by the Government of India for the entire north eastern states to become organic by 2030 has to be taken seriously by our Government because it is now realised that indiscriminate use of chemical fertilisers pose a severe threat to human and animal health and a danger to the fragile ecosystems to our hilly state.
But most importantly the availability of water and the creation of an irrigation infrastructure, is vital for agriculture to sustain and give it’s maximum output. To further elaborate on this subject with reference to our state, I would like to quote from an article “Why isn’t there a second crop in Meghalaya” (ST 26/10/21) by Mr KN Kumar, IAS and Chairman, Meghalaya Farmers’ (Empowerment) Commission, that speaks for itself. “With an average rainfall of 988 mm, Tamil Nadu grows three crops of paddy from the same land every year thanks to their superior water distribution system, while we grow only one crop, despite receiving three times more rainfall (2818mm)………Why do we need a second crop of Paddy at all? Because we are a food-deficit state, because we currently produce only 30% of our food requirement and because we are dependent upon other states for meeting the rest of our demand.”
It’s time for the Department of Water Resources/ Agriculture Department of the state to take note of these observations and suggestions made by it’s most senior officer.
And finally, coming to the men and women who come and sell vegetables at our doorsteps and in our footpaths, I remember an appeal being made that we should not bargain with them for the prices of their produce because they come to sell them not to make money to build mansions but to make sure that their loved ones don’t sleep on an empty stomach at night.
Yours etc.,
Michael N.Syiem,
Via email