By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 7: The Voice of the People Party (VPP) on Sunday countered allegations made by the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) regarding the management of toll gates under the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC).
VPP spokesperson Batskhem Myrboh said the party “welcomes constructive criticisms based on facts” but, at the same time, maintained that “criticising for the sake of it or with purely political motive wastes everybody’s time”.
Asserting that the previous NPP-led KHADC Executive Committee had already issued licences for many toll gates before completing its term, he added that claims about the present EC operating more toll gates were “not surprising”.
Alleging that the MPCC chief was “outwardly a congressman but inwardly an NPP strategist”, Myrboh said Vincent H. Pala “feels that it is his duty to discredit the good work of the VPP to help the NPP”.
He reiterated that the VPP had committed to removing illegal toll gates but not those functioning lawfully, and said Pala should be aware of the financial powers and responsibilities of the autonomous district councils under the Sixth Schedule.
It may be mentioned that Myrboh’s remarks came after the Meghalaya Congress on Friday accused the VPP-led EC in the KHADC of running an expanded network of toll gates without following proper tendering norms. The party sought clarity on revenue generation, accountability mechanisms and operational procedures.
MPCC president Vincent H. Pala later said his allegations concerned only the toll gates operated directly by the district council.
“I spoke only after obtaining concrete documents from the Chief Forest Officer, which clearly indicated that the council is operating 25 toll gates directly managed by its own department,” he said, accusing the VPP of failing to uphold its pledge of “transparent governance”.
