SHILLONG:
Voice of the People Party (VPP) president Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit has expressed happiness that the Khasi Hill Autonomous District Council (KHADC) Executive Committee (EC) has raked up the resolution of the meeting between the district council, the Syiem of Mylliem and stakeholders in Iewduh market held in July 2014, on the issue of weight deduction from produce brought by farmers to the market.
Basaiawmoit said that had the KHADC followed the resolution of the meeting when he was the Chief Executive Member (CEM) in 2014 then the farmers would not have complained about it.
“When I was the CEM there were complaints from the farmers and therefore I personally went to Iewduh to convene a meeting between the sellers who are farmers and buyers who are the businessmen,” he said.
The VPP president said that after the meeting it was concluded that both parties were at fault and it was resolved that the district council will keep record of the proceedings.
He said that the resolution was to streamline the need to make adjustments on how much of weight should be deducted.
According to him, earlier the buyers (businessmen) would randomly deduct weight of the produce brought by the farmers to Iewduh.
He said that the resolution was arrived at between the farmers and the businessmen.
Basaiawmoit said that for the farmers after the resolution was made, it was like streamlining the system.
The VPP chief said that if subsequently, the district council and the present Executive Committee had followed the resolution, which was raked up on Monday, there would not have been any complaint from the farmers.
He said that the visit of the Executive Committee to Iewduh last week showed that random weight deduction still exists.
“Just to accuse that the weight deduction started in 2014, it may be just an allegation or it was said in anger,” Basaiawmoit said.
The VPP chief also said that allegations that weight deduction began when he was the CEM in 2014, was something like a joke and it does not reflect the maturity of the leadership.
“Let the farmers and the businessmen tell what we streamlined then,” Basaiawmoit said.
On Monday, Executive Member (EM) in-charge Market, Grace Mary Kharpuri had said that the weight deduction system in Iewduh has been in existence since long and it even existed when Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit was Chief Executive Member (CEM) in 2014.