This is not the first time that Garo Hills is plunged into darkness. The reasons given are aplenty. On Christmas eve electricity failed the people of Garo Hills. Yet, except for a solitary letter to the editor there was not much protest. People seem to accept the failure of the delivery system as part of their karma. Electricity failure is a common occurrence in all of Garo Hills. If a similar thing happened in Shillong people would have been up in arms and the MeECL would have had a lot to answer for. One of the reasons why the Corporation is unable to deliver the goods is because it is still run like a government department. The mere change of nomenclature is meaningless when the chain of command remains as bureaucratic as ever. After the MeECL was launched a retired bureaucrat headed the Corporation. He was succeeded by another who has since retired. Now the Corporation is virtually headless since no one has been appointed as full time Chairman to manage its affairs exclusively.
Within the bureaucracy and technocracy there are strong attempts to defend the status quo. Delay in commissioning the Leshka project for instance has led to several speculations. But in the absence of external evaluation agencies who will take an impassioned look at the project we will never get to know the truth and will have to depend on explanations given by the project engineers. The Leshka project could have augmented the power scenario in the State but that seems increasingly like a tall order with the date of commissioning shifting time and again.
As far as Garo Hills is concerned the power lines passing all the way from West Khasi Hills on the one hand and Assam through the other, does pose severe constraints. The Power Minister had once explained that he was trying his best to remove the bottlenecks such as pylons having to pass through private land etc. and negotiating with the land owners. While all this is understandable, time is of the essence and things ought to happen within a stipulated time. At this juncture undue delay in project implantation especially in Garo Hills would give the militant GNLA every reason to bleed the state. This is unwarranted. The Chief Secretary’s riposte to the GNLA that the Government is not compelled to provide an alibi for its work does not hold water. If the Government is delivering then service should be visible. If the MeECL is in good health Garo Hills should not be in darkness. Period. People do not want explanations for failure. It’s high time that Garo Hills receives the priority it deserves. The irony is that the region has produced more chief ministers than the Khasi-Jaintia Hills.
