Guwahati: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said that only the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) and the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) are experiencing financial difficulties in Meghalaya.
He attributed the financial issues to the unregulated appointment of employees.
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During a meeting of meeting with the chiefs of the three district councils, Sangma pointed out that the KHADC is not facing similar financial problems.
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He explained, “The GHADC had nearly 2,500 employees in 2015-16, while the KHADC currently has fewer than 800 employees. These excessive appointments were made without proper sanctions, processes, or recruitment systems, driven purely by political will.”
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Sangma stated that the GHADC’s forest department now has 450 employees, and the JHADC’s education department employs 300 staff members.
Despite the education department being transferred to the state government in the 1990s, certain schools were left behind or recruited again, leading to the existence of District Council lower primary schools in the JHADC.
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He emphasized that these unregulated recruitments have created a significant burden on the district councils.
The Chief Minister stated that he has been closely monitoring the situation, and no new appointments have been made in the GHADC over the past five to six years.
He explained that when employees retired, their positions were rationalized and filled with those in non-sanctioned posts.
This approach has reduced the number of employees from 2,500 to less than 1,500, though the current figure of 1,400 employees remains substantial.
Sangma also mentioned that some district councils either lack service rules or have outdated ones.