Pala meets Governor
SHILLONG: The Shillong MP Vincent Pala on Wednesday met Governor V Shanmuganathan raising speculation about the nature of meeting in the context of growing resentment within the party on the manner in which the state government is handling the issues like dual-post and empowerment of headmen among others.
However, when contacted, Pala said that it was a courtesy call, while admitting that he did discuss on the matters related to headmen including pending Village Administration Bill and the recent decision of the State Cabinet to debar government employees from taking part in associations and village administration.
‘I expressed before the Governor the need to define the associations which the government employees cannot associate with and whether the church bodies will also come under the amended service rules”, Pala said.
The State Cabinet recently amended Rule 20 (B) of Meghalaya Service and Conduct Rules debarring “anyone in service, except previous sanctions, to hold office or membership in any community based organizations, associations and traditional bodies”.
Pala said that some more clarity needed on the amended service rules as there is apprehension on the part of church bodies, NGOs and headmen about the decision of the cabinet.
According to Pala, various development issues concerning the state including setting up of railway and the expansion of Umroi Airport were also discussed in the meeting.
