SHILLONG, July 27: The state unit of the BJP is all set to approach Governor CH Vijayashankar to request a special session of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC), citing the unresolved issue of 43 months’ pending salaries of Council employees.
Announcing this decision, BJP state vice president and MDC from Tura, Bernard N Marak, stated that the failure of the Executive Committee of the Council to address or even discuss the matter in the recently concluded 14th GHADC Session necessitates urgent gubernatorial intervention.
Expressing deep disappointment, Marak criticised the abrupt conclusion of the session without addressing what he termed a humanitarian and institutional crisis.
According to him, employees of the GHADC have been grappling with extreme financial distress—unable to meet daily household expenses, fund their children’s education, or afford medical care. “The situation is appalling, and yet the Executive Committee chose silence,” he said in a statement issued on Sunday.
He added that despite repeated sessions over the past years, no tangible progress has been made to ease the financial burden on staff. “I have personally submitted numerous proposals and suggestions to the Executive Members on ways to increase the Council’s revenue, but none of these have been acted upon,” Marak said, holding the present leadership responsible for the prolonged stagnation.
Further highlighting systemic gaps, Marak noted that no all-party meetings have been convened to deliberate on the crisis, and discrepancies in the details of the state’s financial share to GHADC have remained unaddressed. He maintained that unless there is transparency in the Council’s income and proper fiscal accountability, the deadlock will continue.
He reiterated the need for a special session not just to debate the pending salaries but also to scrutinise the Council’s revenue generation model, spending priorities, and to seek commitment from the Executive Committee on a time-bound solution. “The Council cannot function in denial while its employees continue to suffer,” he said.
Calling the present situation a failure of leadership and governance, Marak said that he will formally petition the Governor of Meghalaya to intervene and facilitate a special session of GHADC to break the deadlock. He said that the issue can no longer be delayed under procedural pretexts while lives and livelihoods remain in jeopardy.
