BJP & Congress MDC wants Shiwat to quit CEM’s post

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaNovember 29, 2019

JOWAI: Strange but true, the MDCs of the Congress and the BJP who are arch rivals elsewhere in the country today demanded the immediate resignation of NPP MDC Thombor Shiwat from the coveted post of Chief Executive Member of Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) on  moral grounds.

Addressing a joint press conference here this afternoon, Congress MDC Andrew Shullai lambasted the Executive Committee led by Shiwat as the weakest executive committee ever and also of disgracing the JHADC as they are incapable of administering the Elaka and the villages resulting in court intervention to settle matter while giving example of the election of Sohmynting Waheh Chnong was done after court direction and now the people of Khliehtyrchi will elect new Waheh Chnong as per court order.

He also stated that the Council failed to retrieve the royalty from the seized coals when the Council is presently in deep financial crisis.

Training guns at Shiwat, BJP MDC Lakhon Biam provided evidence of his statement accusing the Executive Committee for diverting funds released under the package of Special Assistance Grants (SAG) by the Central Government which was flatly denied by Shiwat.

Biam showed a photocopy of certain portion of the cash register of the JHADC whereby the Council’s Executive Committee Secretary took temporary loans of Rs. 6.50 crore from the Chief Engineer JHADC on 20.3.2019 for payment of salaries of employees of the JHADC. He also informed that again on 25.9. 2019 the Chief  Engineer JHADC released an amount of Rs. 10 crore to the Executive Committee Secretary as temporary loans for payment of salaries for April and May 2019.

This is clear violation of SAG’s norms and they will report to Delhi, he added.

Shullai thrashed Shiwat for discriminating on the allocation of schemes from SAG funds as he is allotting funds only to NPP and UDP MDC and ignored the MDCs from the opposition bench.

Biam demanded that the Executive Committee should pay the salary for four months to the employees of JHADC as they have received Rs. 26 crores from the State Government being shares of royalty by adding another Rs. 2 crores from the Council’s reserved funds.

He also lambasted the executive committee for rejecting the resolution moved by the BJP for discussing on ban on coal mining and exemption of Meghalaya from MMDR Act.

BJP MDC Dawan Lyngdoh said that the Executive Committee has auctioned the trees under JHADC plantations in Khanduli but the bidder could not cut the trees for he was stopped by the Assam and till date the Executive Committee could not resolved the matter.

BJP MDC Krison Langstang expressed concern over the state of affairs of the Khliehriat Town Committee where there is no payment of salaries for last two years to the employees and there is no clarity on the status of the said Committee whether functional or defunct.