Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong on Tuesday announced a major push to ensure that urban constituencies under the Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) are not left out of the 15th Finance Commission’s recommended grants. Chairing a high-level meeting with representatives from all three District Councils—KHADC, JHADC, and GHADC—alongside officials from the Urban Affairs, District Council Affairs, and Finance Departments, Tynsong addressed the ambiguity around implementing these schemes in urban areas.
“We sat down about the issue of the implementation of 15 Finance Commission grant recommended by the 15th Finance Commission to all the three District Councils,” Tynsong said after the meeting. “But in between, we have a little challenges relating to the area which falls under urban areas.”
Tynsong pointed out a critical oversight: “Even the District Councils, we have urban area constituencies like Tura, like Shillong, like Jowai. So what happened was that schemes recommended by the 15 Finance Commission, it talks about the rural area, which is to be implemented by the three District Councils, and it was silent when you talk about the implementation of the very same scheme in urban area.”
To resolve the issue, the Deputy CM has tasked the Urban Affairs Department with working out a mechanism that ensures urban MDC constituencies across Meghalaya receive their share of both tied and untied funds. “We have already requested the Urban Affairs Department to work out if something can be done for the urban area MDC constituency in the entire state,” he said.
“We have already decided, we entrusted now to the Urban Affairs Department,” he added, directing swift coordination. “I’ve already told also to the Commissioner Secretary of the DCA to be in touch with all the three District Councils.”
With the 15th Finance Commission’s term ending in March 2026, Tynsong underlined the urgency. “No time frame fixed but we have already told them to work out at earliest as possible so that they can also participate because you knew well that the 15 Finance Commission is ended up to March 2026. So we have left maybe only few months from now.”
He concluded with confidence: “I’m very sure we will be able to implement this same such scheme even in the urban areas from now on.”
