SHILLONG, May 21: Former Nongkrem legislator, Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit on Friday alleged lack of vision and complete failure of the state government with regard to effective management of COVID-19 situation. “This is especially so if one compares the spending of other Northeastern states namely Manipur and Nagaland,” he said, pointing to the expenditure of over Rs 400 crore by the Meghalaya government in the fight against COVID-19 last year.
“While Meghalaya spent Rs 339 crore, Nagaland spent Rs 139 crore and Manipur only 60 crore. There was a huge difference between Meghalaya and the other two states,” he said.
Asserting that the state government cannot shirk from its responsibility, Basaiawmoit said that if the government says that it does not have sufficient funds to provide relief to the needy, it clearly shows that it has no feelings for the people of the state, especially the poor and the downtrodden.
“…if the state government feels it cannot provide assistance due to paucity of funds. It can get money by doing away with all the political appointees and reduce the amount of Special Rural Work Programme,” he said.
