GHADC funds misuse charges have to be verified: Dohling

SHILLONG: District Council Affairs Minister, Hamlet Dohling said that the GHADC funds misuse allegations by the BJP have not yet been verified.
“I have to get the officers to test the veracity of the allegations by the BJP as these have been discussed in the media only. I also have to find out the reasons why the GHADC staff have not been paid for 27 months and what state funds are due to them and how much they are to receive from the Centre,” Dohling said to a question whether a CBI inquiry was in order in view of the alleged mismanagement of public funds.
The minister, who belongs to the PDF, a constituent of the MDA coalition, said corruption in GHADC was not of recent vintage but a cumulative effect of mismanagement.
The GHADC of late has been embroiled in controversies galore with the BJP, a coalition partner in the MDA government, firing salvo after salvo at the large scale alleged misappropriation of funds in the council.
As a result, the employees numbering 1750 have not been paid their salaries for 27 months.
Dohling, who had taken charge of the district council affairs department from James Sangma only about five months back, stated that for a council serving a population of 6.5 lakh, the number of employees was definitely on the higher side.
Meanwhile, in a talk show on Saturday evening, CEM, GHADC revealed that a sum of Rs 194 crore was required to pay the staff salaries.
The GHADC has been on a spending spree of Rs 5.28 crore just for producing a documentary for information, education communication (IEC) purposes, which was contracted to a non-resident of Meghalaya but connected to higher ups in the NPP.
According to BJP spokesperson Bernard Marak, a road project amounting to Rs 84 crore was not even visible.
“It is only a paper project,” he alleged.
Meanwhile, Aldous Mawlong, secretary of the DCA department said he too has only heard of the allegations from the media and that they would have to be verified. “The word ‘autonomous’ attached to the district councils does not mean that money can be spent without accountability. It means that the councils have autonomy to undertake grassroots governance but with accountability,” he said.
“It is not viable to have 1700 employees. The councils are expected to use their funds judiciously,” Mawlong said, adding that regular reports of projects should be furnished before funds are released.
The GHADC is due for elections in October this year. The last election was held in October 2015. But as things stand today, the coronavirus has put paid to the idea of elections, and even if there should be elections, it will be minus the campaigning.