Special assistance scheme to ADCs in North East
SHILLONG: Welcoming the Central guidelines for implementation of the special assistance scheme released to the autonomous district councils of the North East, KHADC CEM P.N. Syiem on Thursday stated that some sections of the guidelines necessitated amendment and added that they would approach the NITI Aayog in this regard.
Speaking to reporters on the guidelines which state that a district council level committee should be constituted and that the committee would have to hold consultations with MLAs and MPs, Syiem said, “The guidelines have not reached the Council and we are awaiting the final draft. As it is in the drafting stage nothing significant can be said at this point. However, suggestions will be put forth to amend certain section of the guidelines.” Stating that consultation with MLAs or MPs is not required, Syiem pointed out that the departments concerned should coordinate with the council to prevent overlapping.
“The MDCs consult the people, the village heads and not MLAs or MPs. However, we need to be aware as the issue of overlapping of different schemes should not be there and hence any duplicity is to be checked. It is the responsibility of the state level committee to ensure there is no overlapping,” he added.
As to the delay in release of the special assistance, he said, “At the time when the special assistance scheme was released it stated that the amount should be transferred to the concerned areas by the State government as per annexure which means that the transfer from the State government should be timely.”
Questioning the State government’s delay in transferring the funds, he said, “There is no problem in releasing the funds after getting approval from various committees. Even the interest belongs to the Council and it is useless on the part of the government to keep it.”
