By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, July 22: The execution of some major infrastructure projects in the state, sanctioned by the central government, has been greatly affected by the ongoing checking of documents of migrant labourers by some pressure groups and the resultant exodus of over 2,500 labourers.
According to some contractors implementing the projects, nearly 90% of the labourers have left the state in the wake of the vigilantism and resultant assault in some cases.
The pressure groups said they are checking the documents of the labourers as the government has failed to implement Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act and Inner Line Permit.
The contractors said the labourers have been always the soft targets in Meghalaya. They said the situation has come to such a pass that the labourers are not willing to come back and work in Meghalaya.
The Khasi Students’ Union drove out some 2,500 migrant labourers as they were allegedly found not possessing any documents to prove their nationality.
To a query, some contractors said it is almost impossible to bring labourers to Meghalaya without necessary documentations since the rules here are very strict.
They said every labourer willing to work in Meghalaya has to register himself with the Labour department. They said there could be some exceptions when the labourers skipped the registration process.
The contractors said they usually get their labourers registered with the Labour department but the pressure groups, during their visits to construction sites, demand labour licence which is issued by the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC).
The contractors said as they have already got necessary clearance from the state government, the question of obtaining work permit from the KHADC does not arise.
Recently, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had explicitly stated that the labourers only need to register themselves under the relevant laws of the Labour department.
The contractors said they do not mind if any pressure group wants to check the documents of labourers in a professional way by visiting a site and seeking all details of the labourers from the managers but the first thing that they do is they start assaulting the labourers which should not be the case.
Admitting that the situation has become challenging, they said extended monsoon, extreme cold conditions, stringent rules and interference from pressure groups will discourage any big companies from taking up projects in Meghalaya.
They said given the various challenges, big companies such as L&T Construction, Shapoorji Pallonji, NCC Construction and Simplex never looked back at Meghalaya after taking up only one project.
Projects missing deadlines are common in Meghalaya. One of the projects to be ever completed and that too in a record time of two and half years in recent years is the Shillong IT Park. The Rs 47-crore project was implemented by the Badri Rai and Company despite several challenges.
While the pressure groups often insist on hiring local labourers, the contractors said they will love to get local labourers but there is a huge shortage of them. Also, they said skilled workers are not available locally to take care of highly-specialised works.
Central government agencies, including the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), are also not happy with the pressure groups’ act of checking the documents of labourers and creating ruckus.
The contractors of various road projects have reported to the NHIDCL that a majority of their labourers left the state due to insecurity. The situation will surely affect the progress of the vital road projects.
Recently, half a dozen NHIDCL labourers were assaulted by a group of people in Mawiong area when they were engaged in the repair of the Umiam-Shillong Road.