Meghalaya: Garo Hills autonomous council seeks Rs 252 crore from Centre to address financial crisis

The Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) has requested the Central government for Rs 252 crore to address its financial crisis.

The council requires the assistance in order to clear the salaries for employees and implement a new pay scale in accordance with the 5th Pay Commission.

It must be mentioned that employees of the GHADC have been pressing their demands for more than 2 weeks. They also staged a sit-in protest, however, they rejected the council's proposal to clear their 3-months of salaries under the 4th pay commission.

Ashahel D Shira, the Executive Member for Forests and Environment, GHADC informed that the Executive Committee (EC) is seeking a solution by holding discussions with the Centre and the state government. He also said that the EC has sent formal letters to the Centre seeking financial support. 

One of the major challenges pointed out by Shira was the implementation of the 5th pay commission for council employees since the decision was taken by the previous Executive Committees who had failed to assess the financial capacity of the council before announcing the decision. The assurance to implement the new pay scale under 5th pay commission was apparently promised in 2018.

It must be mentioned that the GHADC employees who have been protesting turned down the proposal of implementing the 5th Pay Commission by January 2025.

Shira further ensured the consistent payment of salaries to non-gazetted employees, adding that one month’s salary will also be advanced in good faith.