Bihar echo in Shillong

Shillong, Dec. 20: What could be Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s first priority if he was Meghalaya chief minister? Scrapping of the annual development scheme allotted to all legislators, and putting in place another scheme to trim corruption is one possibility.

In a move to battle corruption in Bihar, the NDA government decided in principle to scrap the Rs 1 crore local area development fund allotted to MLAs and MLCs. Bihar legislators will only have powers to recommend work in their Assembly segments. The fund may be routed through the respective districts and district magistrates alone would decide the agencies or contractors for the development work.

In Meghalaya, all 60 MLAs receive Rs 1.25 crore annually to develop their constituencies according to their discretion. From plastic chairs to utensils and tarpaulins, village roads and bridges, to blankets and table fans, this scheme has been a subject of debate among the electorate. Lately, allegations have been doing the rounds that the development scheme has been misutilised and legislators have been accused of using the same to “patronise” their associates and “build vote banks”.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Nongkrem legislator Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit, who initiated the “clean politics campaign”, said, “The purpose of the MLA scheme is to aid the legislators in serving their constituents better. However, there have been allegations that the scheme has been misutilised.”

Basaiawmoit also said if the scheme was to be done away with, the government should provide an alternative so that the legislators could reach out to their people.

The leader of the Opposition, Conrad K. Sangma, said it was not right to “generalise” all MLAs though there are legislators who are misusing the scheme. “The MLA scheme is a dynamic one where legislators can reach out to people who make varied demands from their representatives,” he added. Sangma also said the dynamic scheme could be converged with other developmental schemes from the different departments.

However, a retired IAS official, Toki Blah, said it was time to do away with the scheme. “The scheme has been used to accentuate political patronage and to build vote banks.”

Blah said the real danger was that legislators used the scheme as a means to “purchase” headmen and dorbar shnongs. “At one point of time, the headman was a respectable figure. Now, the headman is scared of speaking against his MLA in fear of losing benefits from the scheme.” He also said the scheme has been used to stifle the voice of the people.