By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, June 26: Leader of Opposition (LO) in the KHADC, Titostarwell Chyne, on Thursday lashed out at the VPP-led Executive Committee (EC) for attempting to justify what he termed as serious blunders, while maintaining silence during House proceedings.
“I saw how they tried to justify the illegalities they have committed, but it’s shocking that they didn’t utter a single word about it during the House,” Chyne said, following the passage of the 2025-26 Budget.
He stressed that it was inappropriate for the EC to discuss matters outside the House that were meant to be debated within. “These are House matters. I don’t understand why the EC prefers to discuss them outside. It’s highly questionable,” he remarked.
Earlier, during a cut motion on the last day of the Council’s summer session, Chyne accused the EC of violating procedures by presenting the supplementary demand before the passage of the main budget.
He said the EC attempted to justify this by citing a pending court case.
The LO pointed out that the EC allocated Rs 1.88 crore in the supplementary demand and claimed that the Supplementary Demands (SDs) passed in July and December last year were illegal.
Chyne said it was clear that the supplementary expenditure was introduced in anticipation of ongoing court cases filed by employees challenging the EC’s decision to revoke their regularisation and terminate their services.
“My question is why did the EC bring a similar supplementary demand for the Legislative department — also citing the illegality of past Supplementary Demands — even though there is no case pending in court on that matter? This only highlights the incompetence of the current EC,” he stated.
He also criticised the EC for publicly claiming to have presented a surplus budget. “I just hope the surplus remains and doesn’t lead to any unpleasant surprises,” he added.
According to Chyne, the EC projected revenue of Rs 70-80 crore in the current fiscal year from major and minor mineral shares and motor vehicle taxes.
“But has the state government actually reflected this amount in its budget?” he questioned.
He warned that if the projected funds are not released, the KHADC could face an unprecedented crisis. “I fear this could be the first time in the Council’s history that staff might not receive their salaries,” Chyne cautioned.
Meanwhile, EM in charge of Finance, Seiborlang Warbah, on Thursday clarified that the supplementary demand was included in the main budget due to the pending court case. “Not much can be done since the matter is sub judice,” Warbah said.
However, Chyne rebutted the claim, pointing out that the court had already stayed the EC’s termination order. “Everyone knows the court has stayed the EC’s order,” Chyne asserted.
In response, Warbah explained that the supplementary demand was a precautionary measure in case the court’s ruling aligned with the LO’s concerns. He added that the EC would bring in another supplementary demand if necessary to address the situation.
KHADC receives nearly 1.2 lakh share from private markets
The KHADC has received Rs 1,17,500 as its share from private markets during the financial year 2024-25.
Responding to a question raised by Mawshynrut MDC Srally Rashir, KHADC CEM Shemborlang Rynjah informed that the amount, which the KHADC has received, is part of the 10 per cent share of the revenue from the private market.
Giving the break-up, he said that the KHADC received a total of Rs 2.39 in 2023-24 and Rs 29,000 in 2022-23 from private markets.
According to him, the fluctuations in the revenue collected since there are private markets did not pay their share due to a dispute with the clan over market ownership.