Shillong, May 27: The state government has decided to effect an administrative amendment to the Meghalaya Forest Authority Act, 1991, allowing the Authority to utilise state funds.
Although the Forest Authority Act had existed for 35 years, but it could not be implemented in letter and spirit, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday while underscoring the need for the amendment.
Explaining that the Authority lacked financial powers under the existing law, he said, “Financial resources given by state government just to conduct meeting or different programmes was not part of the Act and Law department has raised concern about that.”
Assuring that the amendment would fix that gap, he said, “This amendment is basic administrative kind of amendment which is allowing this particular authority to have the provision of able to utilise the funds given by the state government to conduct their day-to-day activities like meeting between the Forest department and district councils and the state government at large,” Sangma said.
“It is minor department but as I said it is necessary because without that, the Authority will not be able to function,” he added.
The Authority was originally set up to coordinate between agencies. “The purpose of the Meghalaya Forest Authority was to help coordinate between state Forest department as well as the district council so that different monitoring mechanisms can be implemented,” he said.
