EDITORIAL | All eyes on GHADC polls: Will things change for the better?

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK:

The upcoming Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) elections in Meghalaya will witness unpredictable developments, or so it seems.

The council that made headlines for all the wrong reasons, over the past year, will go to polls on April 9.

Allegations after allegations have emerged from the Council and some have termed the GHADC a “House of unutilised or diverted funds and ghost schemes” or "a defunct body which needs to be uprooted."

Repeatedly, we have seen and heard employees complaining about non-payment of salaries, incomplete projects, mismanagement and the likes.

Of course, it is always the negative things that capture the attention. But things are not always the way we project them.

I believe the Council, being an autonomous body, also brought about some positive changes or implemented projects that benefited the people.

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Let us also not downplay or overlook the hard work of some but a few dedicated officers and employees of the Council.

But as the negative far outweighs the positive news, gossip revolving around the GHADC became even more juicer; which is why we only hear people talking about how the GHADC has failed in its duty as a custodian of the traditional practices of the people of Garo Hills and how it turned into a house of unabated corruption with magnified political influences.

We can say the same for the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council and the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council as political instabilities and irregularities were not only limited to the GHADC.

With eyes fixed on the new Executive Committee (EC) in the GHADC, people hope that somehow, things will eventually change for the better. And it is up to the voters to ignite that spark by voting wisely.

The board is set, and the pieces are moving. Political parties are already busy campaigning in Garo Hills to ensure that their candidates win the poll and are given the chance to form the EC.

But we can only wait and see how things turn out. After all, we can never predict what happens in politics.

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