Shillong: The Meghalaya government has released Rs. 120 crore in revenue share dues to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC), Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma announced on Thursday, clarifying that no outstanding payments remain from the state’s end.
Speaking to reporters, Sangma asserted that the state has fulfilled its obligation of sharing royalty revenue with the GHADC. “There are no dues. The state government has cleared all pending revenue shares to the council,” he said.
Highlighting the performance of the National People’s Party (NPP)-led administration in the GHADC, Sangma said that 80 percent of the council staff salaries had been disbursed during their tenure.
He added that pending arrears mostly pertain to previous administrations led by the Congress.
“The state government is not mandated to pay salaries of council employees. Our responsibility is limited to releasing the royalty share. Despite that, we’ve supported the council with timely and even advance releases,” the chief minister stated.
Sangma also pointed to administrative inefficiencies inherited from past regimes.
He claimed that the council had over 2,000 employees when the NPP took over and that the current Executive Committee (EC) has since worked to streamline the system.
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He further alleged that illegal appointments were made during the Congress regime, stating that no service rules were followed at the time.
“The issue of pending salaries stems from that period. We’ve done our part in supporting the council financially,” he said.
It may be mentioned that Leader of the Opposition and former Chief Minister Dr. Mukul Sangma had earlier strongly criticised the Meghalaya government over the prolonged delay in disbursing salaries to employees of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC), warning that his party may launch an agitation if the issue remains unresolved.
