From Our Correspondent
TURA, Aug 19: Meghalaya Pradesh Youth Congress (MPYC) president Timjim K Momin on Tuesday termed the announcement made by GHADC CEM Albinush Marak that employees’ salaries would now be directly disbursed through the state government as ‘not a solution’ but a confession of failure, proving that the NPP-led Executive Committee had collapsed under its own corruption, mismanagement, and mistrust.
“Salary disbursement is the most basic duty of any administration. By surrendering this responsibility to the State Government, the EC has openly admitted that it cannot be trusted to manage even the simplest functions of governance,” Momin said on Tuesday.
According to Momin, the development also exposes a deep contradiction in the NPP’s stand on the issue with Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on one hand, repeatedly claiming that the State Government has no role or accountability in the functioning of GHADC, while at the same time taking over the direct disbursement of salaries.
“If the State is paying salaries, then how can it wash its hands of responsibility? This is not only hypocrisy but also a clear vote of no-confidence by the State Government against its own MDCs in GHADC,” Momin said.
“This move shows the collapse of trust within NPP itself. The Chief Minister no longer trusts his MDCs, the MDCs are divided and fighting among themselves, and the people of Garo Hills have lost trust in both the EC and the NPP leadership. The employees, meanwhile, continue to be the biggest victims of this collapse — suffering unpaid wages, humiliation, and uncertainty for years,” he added.
As per Momin, despite the people giving their mandate to the NPP not to loot the GHADC, but to reform and strengthen it, the party, after ruling for more than a decade, has failed to bring even the most essential reforms. “Financial rules, service rules, and other crucial legislations remain neglected. Instead of accountability, the NPP chooses to shift blame to previous ECs. But this excuse has no ground — because for over ten long years, GHADC has been in their hands,” Momin asserted.
Pointing out that the ongoing crisis in the GHADC would not have sunk to such a low if the NPP had been sincere, Momin alleged the collapse of the NPP-led EC and demanded an apology from both the MDCs of the current EC and the NPP leadership, to the people of Garo Hills and take full responsibility for ruining GHADC.
‘Misleading statement’
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, the District Youth Congress from West Garo Hills has also expressed deep concern over what it called, ‘misleading statements’ made by the present NPP government regarding the ongoing crisis in the GHADC.
“The NPP-led government has continuously attempted to put the blame on the previous Congress-led Executive Committee. However, the official audit report and available data clearly reveal a different reality. According to the audit findings, it was during the tenure of the NPP-led Executive Committee that staff recruitment in GHADC shot up alarmingly within a span of just seven years. The total number of employees increased drastically, leading to financial strain and mismanagement. Instead of taking accountability and implementing corrective measures, the present government has resorted to blame-shifting and political rhetoric,” the Youth Congress alleged.
As per data provided by the youth body, the total number of staff in the GHADC was 917 in 2010-11, 954 in 2011-12, 1058 in 2012-13, 1247 in 2013-14, 1420 in 2014-15, 1594 in 2015-16, 1656 in 2016-17, 1652 in 2017-18, 1572 in 2018-19 and 1638 in 2019-20.
“The people of Garo Hills and the state as a whole had entrusted the NPP with the mandate to govern both Meghalaya and the GHADC, with the hope of seeing real reforms and effective solutions. However, the NPP has demonstrated not only a lack of capability but also a lack of empathy towards the pressing issues faced by GHADC,” it said.
Asserting that it must act immediately if it is really concerned about the wellbeing of the GHADC, the Youth Congress demanded the immediate clearance of pending salaries, ensurance of regular and timely disbursement of wages hereafter as well as to stop playing the blamegame and focus on genuine solutions for the Council’s financial stability.
“The District Youth Congress stands firmly with the employees of GHADC who are victims of the NPP’s incompetence. We demand urgent action, not excuses. The citizens of Garo Hills deserve justice, transparency, and immediate relief—not empty words from a failed government,” it warned.