Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Thursday said the office memorandum (OM) has been out on implementation of the roster system and that it is final. Now it is more important to ensure that the Roster system is implemented in letter and spirit.
Reacting to a query on the ongoing indefinite strike called by the ACHIK demanding the government to implement the roster system retrospectively and the winter capital in Tura, West Garo Hills District, Chief Minister Sangma said, it was explained during various meeting organised by the state Government in various locations including Shillong and Tura.
“That (OM) has been final and question of going back into it does not arise,” the CM said
“We have clearly explained in the meeting and presentations that we had in Shillong, in Tura and other locations that the way the roster has been plotted we have taken the past appointments that have been done in the different different slots and those appointments in certain cases made against individuals who are belonging to another community…” Sangma added.
The chief minister said past appointments that were made against individuals who belong to other communities cannot be terminated as it is not practical and not realistic.
“But it has been done , so to undo that at this point of time and terminate the employment of those people appointed in 1980, or 1990 or 2005 is practically not possible and is not realistic and hence after plotting those in the roster, we have come to the point where the roster is full,” he added.
He further said from now onwards the state will move forward and the appointments and the recruitments will be done as per the vacancies on the basis of the current roster system.
“So that’s final and the question of going back into it does not arise. We have consulted almost everybody these organisations were present that day. What is more important now is to ensure that the roster system is properly implemented in letter and spirit in the coming days, months and years,”CM said.
Winter capital
Reacting to the query on the demand of ACHIK to make Tura the Winter Capital of Meghalaya, Sangma said, “It is a long pending demand and these are all related to economic development, I have maintained from day one that every demand that comes in this aspect are related to economics and certain communities in the society do feel that by getting a winter capital, the development aspect will come in.”
Talking to reporters, he said , it is one of the ways that development is expected to come to a certain part or region.
“ Hence we are ensuring that development is spread across the state,” he said.
Stating that the government is ensuring that development is spread across the state, the chief minister said, for the first time, mini secretariats will be set up in different regions of the state which include Tura, Jowai, Pynursla.
“These mini secretariats when they come up act as a unified and consolidated kind of integrated administrative complex which is like a mini secretariat and different departments will function from there. Hence, these kinds of big administrative reforms and administrative infrastructures are coming up and as we move along based on the development that is there examination of different aspects can be looked into but this is a process and it takes time and we are working towards it but we will see a lot of economic activities taking place in the different regions of the state,” CM said.