Pending salaries of home guards to be cleared soon: Meghalaya minister

Shillong: The pending salaries of home guard personnel, who assist the state police in various capacities such as maintaining law and order, promoting communal harmony, and regulating traffic, are set to be disbursed soon following a technical delay, according to Comingone Ymbon, the minister in charge of the department.Ymbon assured the assembly that the issue has been addressed and payments will be made shortly.During a session in the assembly, Ymbon explained that out of 1,075 volunteers requisitioned by the police, 165 home guards receive their duty allowance from the Home Guards & Civil Defence Department, which has a dedicated head of account. These personnel have been receiving their payments regularly. However, the police department, which lacks a dedicated head of account for this purpose, has faced delays in disbursing salaries to the remaining volunteers.To resolve the issue of late payments, an emergent meeting was held with the deputy CM in charge of home (police), where it was decided that the home guards & civil defence department would take over the payment of duty allowances for the volunteers.Ymbon highlighted that the home guards are a voluntary organization with a limited number of full-time paid staff for training, command, and control. After completing basic training, volunteers are engaged with various govt and private agencies, including the state police, to perform assigned duties in cities such as Shillong, Jowai, Tura, and Nongstoin.The minister emphasized the significant contributions of the home guards & civil defence organizations to society and noted that a supplementary demand of Rs. 16,56,27,681 is required to disburse the payments due to the volunteers.Following the govt’s detailed explanation, the opposition withdrew the cut-motion, allowing for the smooth passage of the supplementary demand-for-grants in the house.