Chief Secretary Mr SK Tewari informed on Sunday that the government has proposed Rs 1,360 crore for the next fiscal considering the several important projects to be taken up during the year. In its proposal to the Planning Commission, the government would give "clear-cut priority" to power, roads, horticulture and agro-processing, education and health sectors, Mr Tewari said.

"We have almost doubled the allocation for improvement of agri-horticulture and other sectors," Mr Tewari said adding, " Substantial funds for improvement of power and road sectors is also needed," he added.

Mr Tewari hoped that the Planning Commission will approve the Rs 1,360-crore annual plan to accelerate development in the state.

The Planning Commission wanted the States from the North-east to focus on the improvement of infrastructure. In the last meeting with the North-east Chief Ministers held in Shillong, members of the Planning Commission had said that the main area of concern was lack of infrastructure facilities in the region in terms of road, rail and air connectivity.

With the 11th Five Year Plan due to start from April, the Planning Commission wanted the growth rate of the north-eastern states to be at par with all-India growth rate.

The next Cabinet meeting to discuss finalisation of the Governor's address during the Assembly session and some other important issues will be held on Monday at the residence of Chief Minister Mr JD Rymbai.

The Cabinet would also discuss teachers' appointment and also the issues related to the fifth Five Year Plan, sources added.

SHILLONG: Chief Minister Mr JD Rymbai will leave for Delhi on Monday for discussion on the Annual Plan amidst reports that he will use the opportunity to meet Congress President Mrs Sonia Gandhi and other Congress leaders on the leadership issue.

When contacted, Mr Rymbai said that his Delhi trip beginning from Monday is purely official and added that he would devote more time for the official discussion to finalise the plan size.

"There is no political agenda. After the official level meeting, if there is time, I may meet the AICC leaders," Mr Rymbai said. He is expected to return to Shillong on March 9.

Besides the Chief Minister, State Planning Board Chairman Mr SC Marak, Deputy Chief Minister-in-Charge Finance Dr Donkupar Roy and Chief Secretary Mr SK Tewari will accompany the Chief Minister for the official meeting in Delhi.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister informed that there was no communication from Delhi so far on the issue of change of leadership.

CLP Secretary Mr Charles Pyngrope said that he was not aware of any meeting between the Congress president and the AICC leaders in Delhi in the past few days on the issue of change of leadership though there were media reports in this regard.

SHILLONG: Killing of a Garo youth by the BSF in East Khasi Hills on Saturday night sparked off protests even as the BSF maintained that the youth was a smuggler.

While the GSU East Khasi Hills Zone president Mr Aldo Sangma condemned the killing of the youth identified as Mintu Momin, the BSF officials said that the youth was shot dead by the Force while he was trying to smuggle bundles of bamboo to Bangladesh. Four others also escaped during the firing on Saturday night.

The BSF officials on Sunday said that the "smuggler" along with four others tried to smuggle bamboo from Rinku border under Mawsynram to Bangladesh. The incident occurred at around 9 p.m. on Saturday when a group of six were trying to smuggle bamboo into Bangladesh.

One person was killed when the BSF personnel opened fire, following the smugglers' refusal to stop. Four or five others have managed to escape, according to BSF officials.

Meanwhile, the BSF have seized the bamboos.

Mr Aldo Sangma said the GSU would write to the UPA Chairperson Mrs Sonia Gandhi and the Union Home Minister Mr Shivraj Patil on Monday stating that instead of killing the youth, the BSF should have handed him over to the police.

"If he were guilty, he should have been arrested instead of being killed," Mr Aldo Sangma said.

However, the GSU has appreciated the stand taken by the East Khasi Hills District administration for ordering an inquiry and also for the spot visit of the officials.

Meanwhile, the GSU has urged the BSF to maintain cordial relations with the people living in the border areas and not to take such "agressive step" in future.

SHILLONG: Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government has completed four years in office on March 4. During the last four years, there has not been much significant achievement by the MDA.

Other than a relatively peaceful atmosphere, development of the State was at a slow pace, for which the recurrent leadership crisis in the State Congress was partly responsible. Lack of proper planning on the part of the government led to acute power shortage leading to daily power cuts.

However, to mention a few positive developments, the government has taken the initiative to speed up construction of the new Assembly building, Shillong by-pass and IIM, though these projects are yet to see the light of the day.

Now, with only a year remaining for the MDA to complete its term, nothing much can be done, though the government may at the most announce some welfare measures with an eye on the elections.

NCP State president Mr WR Kharlukhi said, "It is not only this government that has failed, in fact every government has failed to bring about development for the past 35 years."

"Because of this, the State has 60,000 educated unemployed youths," he added.

With its rich natural resources - coal, limestone and uranium -- Meghalaya could have focused on developing industries based on agriculture and allied sectors. He felt the need to change and make the planning board real so as to plan and move ahead.

"Drastic change has to be done for development of the State," Dr Kharlukhi said.

"Allegations of leakage of State revenue in terms of royalty have to be looked into," he added.

According to the NCP president, the hunger for power and the infighting among the Congress members have left the ministers with no time to concentrate on development. He also questioned the institution of IIM in Shillong as he "heard" that there was no reservation.

"I don't know how this IIM can help and serve the people of the area as it is difficult for our people to compete with those in the national level, because there are very few good schools in all the seven districts of the State," Mr Kharlukhi said.

Former State Chief Secretary Mr HWT Syiem also expressed doubt as to whether enough had been done with regard to economic growth vis-à-vis- employment.

"I doubt whether much has been done for creation of sustainable employment" by the government so as to foster economic growth, Mr Syiem said. To achieve that, 10,000 jobs have to be created per year, he added.

Commenting on the State power scenario, Mr Syiem questioned the decision to hand over the Kynshi Hydel power project to NEEPCO as it "defies logic".

"Handing over of Kynshi to NEEPCO is not a good sign. MeSEB can and is capable of handling the project," Mr Syiem said. The State needs the power as what it generates is not enough for the State consumers, he added.

The former Chief Secretary said that if the project was given to NEEPCO, Meghalaya would have had to purchase power.

BJP president Mr AL Hek said that there was no real development during the four years of MDA government. "What we see is only cosmetic development," Mr Hek added.

The State government also could not redress burning issues like price hike, he said. Mr Hek said that the Opposition would raise these issues during the Assembly session.

SHILLONG: Incidents of theft and anti-social activities have increased in the city due to the power cut timing of 12 midnight to 5 a.m. daily.

Several complaints were received from various localities of the city that as there was continuous power cut starting 12 midnight, the thieves and other anti-social elements have taken advantage of the situation to commit crimes. Several residents have also informed that the sick people are the worst affected as it becomes inconvenient to attend to their needs in the absence of electricity.

Some suggested that as the examinations are only during the morning hours, the power cut hours could be regulated with three hours in the afternoon and two hours at night.

SHILLONG: Despite opposition from KHNAM and a number of NGOs, construction of the 20-km road project sponsored by UCIL to facilitate uranium mining from Wahkaji to Mawthabah has reached its final stage. Construction of 17-km portion of the 20-km road has already been completed.

However, construction of retaining walls and bridges is still under progress in the 17-km stretch.

A joint team of media persons along with KHADC CEM Mr HS Shylla, UDP leader Mr Bindo Lanong, MDCs and officials of KHADC visited the construction site on Friday. UDP leader and MDC Hardinge L Massar, who openly opposed UDP being a partner of the United Democratic Alliance led by Mr Shylla, was conspicuous by his absence during the visit.

However, all other MDCs of the UDP were part of the inspection team.

Mr Massar was the lone MDC of the ruling KHADC coalition who had revealed "financial irregularities" in the Rs 20-crore road project of UCIL and Council by using the RTI Act. He also expressed doubt over the intention of Mr Shylla for taking "special interest" in the road project.

Though some NGOs were also invited by Mr Shylla to be part of the inspection team, none of them turned up.

Meanwhile, Mr Shylla expressed his satisfaction over the progress in the construction work. The KHADC CEM visited the area for the second time after laying the foundation stone of the project in May, 2006.

Nearly Rs 10 crore has already been spent and the KHADC is waiting for the second installment to complete the entire construction by the end of this year, Mr Shylla said adding that a meeting in this regard would be held in New Delhi on March 16.

UDP leader Mr Bindo Lanong was also satisfied over the construction work. He said, "I believe that roads are the backbones for any development." He significantly called upon Mr Massar to personally investigate whether there were any financial irregularities in the project.

Speaking to reporters after the inspection, a resident of Nongtynger village (a village in the middle of Wahkaji and Mawthabah) Mrs Tesimon Lyngdoh Langrin said that construction of the road was a blessing for the villages along the road from Wahkaji to Mawthabah. None had ever hoped that such a road would come into being, she said.

However, Mrs Langrin said that peace and harmony might not prevail in the area after completion of the project, indicating towards the hue and cry over the road project. But, she admitted to the fact that changes and developments bring along some anti-social elements.

Another resident of the village, H Lyngdoh Langrin expressed the hope that the road would definitely help people in time of illness, because in the past people had to walk many kilometres to take the patient to the nearest hospital and there were cases where patients died on the way.

However, he too expressed concern over the motive behind construction of the road. He said that sole intention behind the project was mining of uranium because "none would have considered constructing a road in the area if uranium ore was not found at Mawthabah."

There has been a reversal of the joy and despair that the Congress and the BJP felt, respectively, after the 2004 general elections. Now, after the latest election results in Punjab and Uttarakhand, it is the turn of the BJP to rejoice and for the Congress to mourn.

Even if such changes of fortune are a part of democracy, as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has pointed out in a philosophical vein, the fact remains that the Congress seems to have gone out of its way to court disaster. As a result, it may have more miseries in store for it in the near future.

Its loss in Punjab is the most damaging if only because of the key nature of the state. But the Congress will be no less worried about its setback in Uttarakhand because it portends a similar fate in the far more crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, which will soon go to the polls.

On its part, the BJP will be delighted because it has shown that the party cannot be written off, as many tended to do after 2004 and in the wake of the (still continuing) rumpus within it after L.K. Advani left the president's post, apparently under pressure from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The Congress now faces the prospect of coping with a rejuvenated BJP in Uttar Pradesh. And the very fact that the saffron outfit is back in the reckoning will make it easier for it to forge an alliance with, say, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in order to wrest Uttar Pradesh from the Samajwadi Party.

For the Congress, the setback in Punjab has come at possibly the worst time for it. Before it could recover from the charge that it was trying to oust the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh by imposing President's rule, the party found itself embroiled in the Ottavio Quattrocchi fiasco involving the controversial Italian businessman with links to the Bofors howitzer scam of the 1980s.

Now, the Punjab setback has shown that the Congress is becoming politically vulnerable in north India. Yet, the party could have foreseen the coming disaster because the difference between it and its main opponent, the Akali Dal, was quite narrow in terms of the percentages of votes.

In the 2002 assembly elections, for instance, although the Congress won 62 seats in the 117-member legislative assembly against the Akali Dal's 41, the Congress's percentage of votes was 35.81 compared to the Akali Dal's 31.08.

If the 5.67 percent secured by the Akali Dal's partner BJP is taken into account, then the total of 36.75 percent goes past what the Congress received. And what is more telling is that the total number of votes secured by the Congress was only 125,000 more than those of the Akali Dal-BJP combine.

Equally worrying for the Congress was the fact that in the 2004 parliamentary poll, the Akali Dal-BJP alliance was ahead in 88 assembly segments against the Congress's 29.

If the Congress nevertheless felt that it could beat a four-decade-old record to win a second consecutive term in Punjab, the reason perhaps was that the contest was one of the few in the state that was normal in the sense that the earlier references to extremism of the Khalistani variety were absent.

Besides, the Congress may have felt that with a Sikh as prime minister and also as the army chief, the largely Sikh electorate may plump for it. But as always, the voters have shown that they go less by emotional factors than by bread-and-butter issues.

And this is where the Congress seems to have faltered both because of the recent spurt in prices and because of the Akali Dal's promise to provide atta (wheat flour) at Rs.4 per kg and dal (lentil) at Rs.20 per kg.

Considering that the DMK won in Tamil Nadu after promising colour television sets, the impact of such pledges cannot be underestimated.

Another factor that may have gone against the Congress is the outgoing Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's rather flamboyant lifestyle. Such conduct may have been in keeping with the fact that he is the former Maharaja of Patiala but it also exposed him to allegations of being inaccessible to ordinary people.

In contrast, the Akali leader Prakash Singh Badal has always had the common touch while his son, Sukhbir Singh Badal, the rising star in the party, is gradually becoming an accomplished politician. To him went the credit of controlling the party machine and distributing tickets in a manner intended to dispel the impression of the party being dominated by half-educated peasants and dogmatic jathedars (religious preachers) associated with the village gurdwaras (Sikh shrines).

The BJP, of course, is a secondary player in Punjab, which rides on the Akali Dal's coattails. But this time it has fared better than ever before. In fact, it is the BJP's 19 seats - a big jump from the three it won in 2002 - that enabled the Akali Dal-BJP combine to secure its majority. There is little doubt that their longstanding alliance has served both fairly well, with the BJP adding sections of the Hindu vote to those of the Sikhs secured by the Akali Dal. The tie-up also gives the BJP a secure foothold in north India, which helps it elsewhere.

The alliance has also been relatively free of factionalism, which cannot be said of the Congress where the tussle between Amarinder Singh and Deputy Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal lasted throughout the five years the party was in power.

Similarly, the unending squabbles between the outgoing Chief Minister of Uttarakhand N.D. Tiwari and the state Congress chief Harish Rawat are believed to have cost the party dearly.

Hindsight suggests that the choice of the octogenarian Tiwari was a wrong one because a newly formed state required a relatively young person at the helm to give it a clear direction towards development. Not surprisingly, the lack of employment opportunities is now advanced as a major cause for the Congress defeat.

Unlike Punjab, the BJP's success in Uttarakhand is entirely its own, suggesting that it has overcome the demoralization it suffered after the 2004 defeat and is ready to pose a major challenge to the Congress in the other states, including Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. The party will now obviously have greater faith in the astrological prediction that from the middle of this year, its stars will be on the ascendant.

The Congress, on the other hand, will be on the defensive. It is likely to become more dependent on the Left, which will now try ever harder to make it abandon its policy of economic reforms and opt for a Left-of-centre stance. (Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. He can be reached at aganguli@mail.com)

At a recent family gathering, the atmosphere was celebratory. The reason was the birth of a baby. Friends and relatives, largely female, gathered around the mother to offer their congratulations.

The days-old baby was passed around as a light but precious bundle. I observed as women peered into its tiny, rosy face and speculated about which parent it resembled. They offered umpteen unsolicited suggestions, ranging from baby feed to baby clothes, religious rituals and pujas for babies to baby skincare.

Then, in offering her best (and loud) wishes to the mother of the newborn, one lady said, "May you give birth to many more sons!"

I turned to look at the voice. The woman had a kind, benevolent expression on her face. I hurriedly scanned other faces for reactions but realised that her blessing seemed to have gone unnoticed.

In a room full of women, one woman had just wished another many more male children and no one present seemed offended! It soon dawned upon me that I had been introduced earlier to this giver of sexist blessings, who had told me then that she was engaged in social work at the ashram of a spiritual scholar and guru.

I wondered how this woman could juxtapose such duplicities in her mind. Did her engagement with social issues not make her question her own chauvinism? Did spirituality not cleanse her of gendered blind spots?

Can such attitudes pass the unsparing mental filters of a truly thinking individual, unless there is no thinking and, therefore, no filter? Since I knew her to be a member of Delhi's educated elite, I keenly began to draw a profile of her in my head. The lady had informed me that she had spent many years living in a posh south Delhi colony and had moved to Gurgaon a few years back.

One cannot infer or generalise anything from this information but there was a striking coincidence.

Though considered upmarket, the localities she had named have also been known for their abysmal child sex ratio, with clear records of female foeticide.

The Nithari incident has a particular carnal twist to its sordid tale, but it seems that our awful cultural prejudices towards the girl child are also silently producing many genteel killers. (By arrangement with The Times of India)

Sir,

The ongoing power tussle in the state government for chief ministership, only reflects what we all along have witnessed for years. And this is the reason why politics in India is a dirty game and only opportunistic and selfish individuals gain momentum in the race. A few months back the people of Meghalaya, finally heaved a sigh of relief when at last we had as chief minister an honest, morally high, and an open minded man, and our hopes were beginning to light up, knowing at last that the state is represented by a truly honest, God fearing man. The people had started to build up their faith in the central Congress party's leadership, but sadly good things never last long and we once again see evil prevail over good as in any other example of dirty politics so well known to plague the Indian political system and ruining the country. The Congress high command's directive for the Chief Minister JD Rymbai to step down only reveals to us, its selfishness and small-minded nature whereby it brushed aside people's wishes and set to satisfy the wishes of the hungry politicians within its fold. The power mongers will not stop at anything, and their thirst for power will not stop them from trying till the end to topple an honest leader, even if these so call power mongers one day die and happen to be in hell, it seems even then their tussle for power to overthrow Lucifer as leader of hell will continue to eternity.

Yours etc.,
J. A Mukhtiar
Shillong
Via E-mail

Sir,

Apropos the news item, 'No cards for BPL families for six years' published in The Shillong Times some weeks ago, it has been learnt that one of the cantonment board members, Lamki Kyndiah, had duly submitted the memorandum to the then Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Jain requesting him to dig out the truth behind the glaring delinquency of his office and book the culprits responsible in the racket. It may be mentioned here that the BPL card categorized under PDS scheme for poor public for civil areas falling under Cantonment Board have not been distributed till date. It has been understood that few staff and some unscrupulous businessmen have been involved in this scam. But it is very unfortunate that till date no action has been taken by the esteemed office of the Deputy Commissioner.

Through this letter I earnestly would like to ask the present Deputy Commissioner why such dilatory tactics have been adopted in spite of the complaint having been lodged much earlier? Does this office not exist for the welfare of the poor who have been deprived of their rightful share of rations under BPL scheme for inaction on the part of the DC office some swindlers who are hand in glove with few officers of the concerned department and have been making quick money for past about six years? It is nothing but a sinful act of snatching the food from the hungry mouth of the poor. Has this DC office been set up to condone and abet the criminals of such sorts?

Since no thorough investigation has been instituted so far, it becomes very hard to believe that the DC as well is not involved in this scam. Anyway, I repose all confidence that this letter would prompt this honourable office to act honourablly.

Yours etc.,
Peter Laloo
Shillong-2
Via e-mail

Immediately on her arrival here, the 34-year-old activist was admitted to Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital where she continued to be on her hunger strike and fed through foodpipe.

Sharmila was arrested by Delhi Police in October last year and admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences and thereafter shifted to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital even as she continued her fast.

Sharmila landed in Imphal airport on Sunday morning and headed straight towards the Nupilal Memorial (a memorial built to commemorate the participation of women in the drive against the British invasion of Manipur) and continued her agitation minutes after which the Manipur police picked her up and admitted her to JN Hospital in.

Talking to the media on Sunday, Sharmila said that there was no point in continuing her protest in New Delhi as the Centre is not going to listen to her voice. She lamented that New Delhi did not take her protest seriously so she has decided to come to Manipur to continue her protest here.

The lady, who is also termed as the "Iron Lady of Manipur", said that she would never give up her agitation until and unless the AFSPA is removed from the entire of Manipur. (NNN)

AGARTALA: Setting aside all doubts, the BSNL would soon introduce the much awaited mobile services in six bordering sub-divisions in Tripura. The sub-divisions were excluded from mobile network on security grounds.

The six subdivisions where mobile network will be available from this month are Kalishahar in North district, Khowai and Sonamura in West district, Belonia and Sabroom in South district - all are located very close to the international border.

BSNL sources on Sunday said the cellular service is set to be operational by March 31 next as the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has given the green signal to launch the service in bordering areas with the recent relaxation of 500 meters cellular network from the zero line by the Central Government.

The Telephone Advisory Committee, Tripura SSA convened a in this connection where the overall telephone network and future plans were reviewed.

General Manager, BK Biswas, who was present at the meeting, said around 15000 new mobile connections will be given in the State by March 31 next. In order to ensure better mobile service, 27 BTSs will be set up, he added.

As part of future expansions, the BSNL will also offer 75000 mobile connections during the next few years under the Phase - V plan. About 168 BTSs will be established to activate proposed 75000 mobile connections, he added.

GUWAHATI: The All Assam Student Union (AASU) has added its voice to embolden the growing protest in Asom against the process of delimitation of constituencies without updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The AASU, which spearheaded the anti-foreigners movements in the State, feared that delimitation of constituencies at this juncture in the State would tilt the balance of political power in favour of lakhs of illegal Bangladeshi migrant voters and against the interests of indigenous population.

With most of the political parties in the State opposing the delimitation process, the protests gathered momentum with the influential AASU joining the bandwagon.

Bodo political parties are already up in arms against the proposed de-reservation of the Kokrajhar Lok Sabha constituency in Lower Asom. The Bodo political parties on Friday called for a lower Asom bandh to protest delimitation of constituencies bringing vehicular and railway traffic in the area to a grinding halt.

The AASU adviser Dr Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharrya said that political parties were opposing the delimitation for their own political gain but the AASU was opposing it on the point that the process of delimitation based on population pattern would go against the interests of indigenous population in the State.

"All those areas teeming with illegal migrant voters are going to have more Assembly segments than the rest of the State and it would result in a major shift in balance of political power to illegal migrant voters against the interests of indigenous population," Mr Bhattacharrya said.

The AASU believes that unless the constitutional safeguard was provided to the indigenous people, there should not be any delimitation of constituencies. Already an all-party delegation from the State had called on the Commission at New Delhi to register their protest against delimitation exercise in Asom.

The decision was taken at the recent meeting of the university’s executive council, the highest decision making body of the GU, said the sources while adding that under the new scheme all the issues related to the academic affairs of the university would be discussed. The new scheme would be effective from the next academic year.

The new scheme is adopted keeping in mind the fact that academic sudit has helped the IITs and IIMs to go for innovative and effective teaching methodology, said the sources while adding that the scheme will be given the final shape very soon.

"Under the scheme all faculty members would have to submit a self-appraisal form provided to them by the University. The performance of the staff would be reviewed at the end of every year," said the sources. (NNN)

Silchar: The Centre has introduced a scheme to rehabilitate families affected by border fencing, official sources said. At present two border towns in Asom, including Karimganj and Dhubri have been brought under the Integrated Housing Slum Development Project, sources said on Saturday, adding, that the project was mooted by the Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation.

In Karimganj, 425 such families will be rehabilitated to a proposed multi-storyed housing complex, which will be raised on 20 bighas of land within the municipal area. A sum of Rs six crore has been granted for the same and Karimganj municipal board has been entrusted to implement the project.

In the first phase, those who are below poverty level will be accommodated in the housing complex. The Centre will approve the second phase soon to rehabilitate more families beyond these 425, informed Karimganj municipal board chairman Deborshi Bhattacharjee.

In Barak Valley only about half of the 124 km international border with Bangladesh has been fenced so far. More than 5,000 Indian families have been affected, especially in terms of communication with the mainland, livelihood and security. (UNI)

Aizawl: With the Cabinet having decided to introduce the Mizoram Municipalities Bill 2006, a landmark in the democratic process, the State is all set to enter where people will have more participation in what is to be done about their localities in urban areas.

Having dilly-dallied for more than ten years to implement 74th Amendment of the Constitution of India for all states to have municipalities, the Mizoram Government has finally been forced to introduce the Bill since without this, it cannot receive funds amounting to more than Rs 2000 crores under the Jawarharlal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission (JNNRUM).

The Bill, according to Chief Secretary Haukhum Hauzel, seeks to establish municipal boards in all district headquarters and a municipal council in the State capital.

Hauzel said while the criteria for constituting boards was for a town to have at least a population numbering 50,000, this criteria will not be met by all district headquarters. However, he said municipal boards will be constituted even in those district headquarters which do not meet the population criteria.

Aizawl, with a population of nearly three lakhs, will be more than eligible to have a council since the population criteria is 1.5 lakhs for a municipal council. This, however, still falls quite short of the population criteria needed for a corporation which has to have at least 1 million in population.

While welcoming the move on introducing the Municipalities bill, the Mizoram Municipal Steering Committee, which had been pressurising the State Government for such a bill since 1999, said the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution should also be introduced where local urban bodies in rural areas would get more empowerment than its present state under village councils.

Lalmuanpuia Punte, an MMSC member on Sunday said although it was not mandatory for states to have panchayati rajs under the 1992 Amendment, empowering the people under this amendment would be more beneficial for the people than the village councils, in their present State, are.

"Our happiness would be complete if the 73rd Constitution amendment is also introduced in the State since this would mean more empowerment for the people. Empowering people in urban areas is not enough, the rural folks also need empowerment," he said.

The introduction of municipalities in the State would entail several changes in the Government of which two important new additions would be a finance commission and an election commission.

The Chief Secretary furrther said that electoral roll would be adopted for municipal elections by the State Election Commission, which would soon be set up after the Bill becomes an Act. He also added that there had been suggestions that the village council electoral rolls, which are in existence be adopted. (NNN)