SHILLONG, June 9: The KHADC on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) Government, questioning whether the ruling party is deliberately using fund denial as a political weapon against the opposition-led council, alleging that over Rs 41.5 crore remains withheld despite repeated reminders.
KHADC Chief Executive Member (CEM) Winston Tony Lyngdoh, from the opposition VPP, accused the State government of clear partisan discrimination, revealing that the council is yet to receive its share of Rs 29 crore from transport and minor mineral revenues, besides the second installment of the 15th Finance Commission grant amounting to Rs 12.5 crore.
The delay has put considerable strain on the council’s financial position and crippled its ability to carry out developmental and administrative functions—a situation Lyngdoh called “politically motivated financial sabotage.”
Speaking to reporters, Lyngdoh revealed that KHADC has sent at least four reminders to the District Council Affairs (DCA) department, the latest on June 5, seeking release of the pending funds. However, no response has been received so far.
“The State government has released the funds to the JHADC and the GHADC, but KHADC is still waiting for its dues. This raises serious questions,” he said.
The political angle is glaring: executive committees in both JHADC and GHADC are headed by the ruling NPP, while the KHADC Executive Committee is led by the opposition VPP.
According to Lyngdoh, the DCA department had earlier issued communications indicating that Rs 20 crore would be released as the council’s share. Subsequently, another letter was issued regarding the release of an additional Rs 9 crore. Despite these assurances, the total amount of Rs 29 crore has not been disbursed.
He expressed concern over the delay in releasing the second installment of the 15th Finance Commission grant, stating that the amount had reached the State government nearly two to three months ago but has not been transferred to KHADC.
“The Executive Committee has discussed the matter in detail and has come to the conclusion that the State government is not serious about releasing either the council’s revenue share or the second installment of the 15th Finance Commission grant,” Lyngdoh said.
He alleged that the government was merely issuing letters to create an impression that the funds would be released, while no concrete decision had been taken—a tactic he labeled “political deception.”
“The non-release of these funds has adversely affected the council’s finances. Had the Rs 29 crore been released at the beginning of the year, it would have greatly helped the Executive Committee in running the affairs of the council,” he added.
Lyngdoh further claimed that under the guidelines governing the Finance Commission grants, the state government is required to transfer the funds to the respective ADCs within 10 days of receiving them from the Centre. Failure to do so would attract interest liability, he pointed out. He said the council has calculated that the interest on the delayed Rs 12.5 crore second installments has already reached around Rs 35 lakh.
“As per information available to us, the State government has already released the second installment to JHADC and GHADC. Only KHADC’s share has been withheld,” he alleged.
The KHADC has demanded not only the immediate release of the pending grant but also payment of the interest accrued due to the delay.
“We have clearly stated in our June 5 reminder that the government should pay the interest due to KHADC. The longer the delay continues, the higher the interest liability will become,” Lyngdoh said.
The DCA department, according to the CEM, has maintained that the funds are currently pending with the Finance Department.
