Opposition Congress Umsning MLA Celestine Lyngdoh on Friday urged the State government to come up with a contingency fund for providing immediate relief to families affected by natural calamities.
Lyngdoh suggested that such funds be parked with the respective MLAs while participating in the discussion during the question hour in the Assembly,
“If (government do not) trust the MLAs, let it be placed with the deputy commissioner’s office and the same be released based on the recommendations of the MLAs,” he said while adding the contingency, if made available, will go a long way in helping the affected victims of calamities.
Replying to this, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said he is happy to inform the House that in the recently held MDA meeting, some of the MLAs had in fact given the same proposal.
He however said though the government may not be able to create a contingency fund, as it may have financial implications but the Special Rural Works Program (SRWP) and the Special Urban Works Program (SUWP) could be used to address the concern.
He said the SRDF rules can be amended to allow funds to be placed with SRWP and SUWP like it was done during Covid pandemic. “We are contemplating and we are working on it,” he added.
Meanwhile, Opposition chief whip Saleng A Sangma wanted to know whether the government has any proposal to enhance the SRWP scheme.
To this, the CM said though the demand is genuine, the government however will have to look at the budget as five years back, it had already increased the SRWP by Rs 50 lakh. According to him, the SRWP in Meghalaya is very much on the higher side compared to other states.