Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has expressed an anxiety that has plagued the state government and the Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) themselves for decades. His public disclosure that the monthly income of the Garo Hills District Council (GHDC) is less than Rs 2 crore while its expenditure – mostly salaries – runs to Rs 10-12 crore monthly is troubling. Sangma is of the view that the Councils should be funded along the same lines as the Panchayati Raj Institutions vide Article 280 of Constitution whereby funds are distributed by the Finance Commission. The Finance Commission as we are aware is constituted by the President under article 280 of the Constitution, mainly to give its recommendations on distribution of tax revenues between the Union and the States and amongst the States themselves. Two distinctive features of the Commission’s work involve redressing the vertical imbalances between the taxation powers and expenditure responsibilities of the Centre and the States respectively and equalization of all public services across the States. For a state like Meghalaya with scant revenue, having to finance the Councils through its share of internal revenues is proving to be a huge strain at this juncture. Meghalaya’s internal revenues accrue from sales tax and royalty on coal and limestone. The revenue generated by the coal trade has stopped since April 2014 after the ban on rat hole mining by the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
However, what needs to be stated upfront is that the ADCs themselves have not been judicious with their spending. The GHDC is a classic example of an institution that has been extravagant with meagre public funds by paying for projects that hardly have long term impact on the people. RTI disclosures don’t lie and the BJP has called out the corruption in the manner in which public funds have been spent at the cost of the employees’ salaries. The problem with each of these institutions is that they quickly become employment agencies and are stuffed with political acolytes pushed in by politicians in power. There is no thought applied on whether the Council can bear the salary burden of these appointees. Hence you have the GHDC with 1700 odd employees. Are they needed? What are their terms of reference vis a vis their employment in the Council?
But over and above that, the District Councils cannot be compared to the PRI institutions which have grass-roots connect. The Councils are stand-alone institutions and are neither connected to the Government nor in any effective manner to the local tribal institutions. The Chief Minister also said that as far as protecting tribal cultures and tradition is concerned, the Councils have achieved their targets and that by the way was their prime mandate when they were created. The problem with this country is that it is well nigh impossible to disband an institution once created. So the Councils although they have outlived their utility will continue to be nurtured and financed. It’s time therefore to recast their mandates.