SHILLONG, July 22: While Meghalaya manages a massive Rs 25,000 crore budget, the traditional institutions governing 97% of its land are being systematically starved of funds, sparking a grassroots rebellion against a “contractor raj” that critics say is bypassing the Sixth Schedule to divert central development grants.
For the people of the Khasi, Jaintia, and Garo Hills, the state’s financial roadmap reveals a stark disparity between the Secretariat in Shillong and the rural reality.
Against a total state budget outlay of Rs 25,574 crore for 2024–25, the three Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) operate on a combined budget of just Rs 733 crore—less than 3% of the state’s total spending power.
The individual budget estimates highlight the squeeze: the KHADC stands at Rs 329 crore, the JHADC at Rs 205 crore, and the GHADC at only Rs 199 crore.
This data was found in Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh’s written reply tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
VECs versus traditional councils
The core of the conflict lies in the administration of Fifteenth Finance Commission grants. These funds are intended for “Rural Local Bodies,” but a struggle has emerged over who holds the purse strings.
The state government has increasingly favoured Village Employment Councils (VECs) to implement projects. Unlike the traditional DorbarShnongs or Nokmas (village heads), which enjoy constitutional autonomy, VECs function under the direct control of State Block Development Officers (BDOs).
Critics and traditional heads argue this shift is a calculated move to dilute the authority of the Sixth Schedule and centralise power in the hands of the state executive.
The Nokma Sani Union in the Garo Hills has already condemned the GHADC for routing these grants through hand-picked contractors rather than transferring them directly to village-level institutions.
‘Contractor Raj’ allegations
The lack of transparency has led to a surge in allegations involving “fake firms” and GST irregularities.
In Tura, local MDC Bernard N. Marak has formally objected to the state’s handling of Urban Local Body (ULB) funds, claiming projects are awarded to politically affiliated contractors without competitive tendering.
While the state government maintains that these mechanisms ensure professional project execution, the results on the ground suggest otherwise. Public scrutiny has repeatedly flagged multi-crore road projects that exist only on paper or fall apart within months of completion.
Human cost of failed governance
The “leakage” between the central tap and the village bucket has consequences. Data shows that 46.5% of children under five in Meghalaya are stunted. In the rural blocks, where the ADCs are becoming “toothless tigers” due to a lack of resources, there is often no money for medicines or motorable roads. Demand for fiscal justice
Traditional heads and community advocates are now calling for an end to the “wait-and-see” approach regarding constitutional amendments. Their demands are direct:
Direct Devolution: Central transfers for Sixth Schedule areas should bypass the State Consolidated Fund and flow directly into ADC accounts to prevent bureaucratic delays.
Proportional Funding: State allocations must reflect the fact that ADCs and traditional heads govern the overwhelming majority of the state’s population and land.
Independent Audits: An immediate halt to the use of outside contractors for village-level works, alongside headwise audits of all project approvals to root out ghost firms.
For the tribal majority, the struggle is no longer about budget lines; it is about preventing the Sixth Schedule from becoming a hollow shell. Without fiscal autonomy for traditional institutions, the promise of development will remain out of reach for the state’s most vulnerable communities.
