Hon’ble Governor of Mizoram Shri Kummanam Rajasekharan chaired a meeting concerning Chakma Autonomous District Council (CADC) at Raj Bhavan today. It was attended by Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Lal Thanhawla, members from the Council and officials from the State government. 

In his opening address, Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan said that he was eager to have his first meeting with the Council and lauded the efforts of CADC for the development of the region. He said that as government servants, we are all bound to do something for the welfare of the people and need to be accountable and transparent in our work. He said justice must be done to every rupee spent out of the public money and there should not be lapses on our part.  He urged the members of the Council to find the potential of their region, evolve a plan of action to take advantage of it, prepare DPRs and try to raise the income of the Council. He also emphasized on the need to have regular meetings in order to evaluate whether the decisions taken during previous meetings have been implemented. He also urged them to ensure that there is a concrete administrative system in place despite shortcomings in transportation and communication infrastructure. 

Also speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla said that whenever they are in power, his government has not interfered in the working of the three Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) trying to give maximum autonomy according to the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India. He said that they should function independently because they know their people and their requirement better and that the State governemnt have always tried to increase their power including the budget allocation. He also said that his government has sometimes felt the need of an authority to oversee the spending of the Council; however, they have not restricted their spending till date. The Chief Minister said it was unfortunate that there have been gross mismanagement of funds in some of the District Councils despite all the efforts. As a new government in the CADC, he advised them to utilize their fund judiciously and for the purpose for which they have been sanctioned by both the Central and State government. He also hoped that the Council will adhere to all the rules, and do the best for the welfare of the people. 

Several issues pertaining to the Council were discussed during the meeting  such as the recent report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, financial management, mode of release of funds  to the Council, infrastructural issues, health sector, education, recruitment to various posts under the Council, monitoring of developmental works, streamlining of the administrative setup in the Autonomous District Councils and other important issues. 

A presentation on the Chakma Autonomous District Council was made by Shri Rodney L. Ralte, Secretary of District Council and Minority Affairs department. He also highlighted several projects undertaken by the Council since 2016.