MTDC not a sick unit, say employees

SHILLONG, March 10: The Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation Employees' Union has opposed the government's branding of the corporation as a sick unit and its bid to privatise it. Addressing a news conference here, union president S.D. Marbaniang and its other members denied that the corporation was a loss-making unit. They asked the government to instead seek out answers to the huge losses by probing into the managerial decisions made over the years. They alleged that the Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) was incurring losses because of mismanagement. The union leaders said the government had identified tourism as a highly viable industry for the state and that the MTDC had an infrastructure to exploit this. "The MTDC could be the finest example of tourism in the Northeast, but corruption and mismanagement have obstructed the development of the corporation," an MTDEU release said. According to the union, privatisation is not the answer to the corporation's redemption. "In order to rectify the defects in the management, the government should completely root out corruption from the corporation," they said. The union urged the government to effect reforms in the management and order a probe into the failure of different MTDC projects such as the Crowborough hotel project and the Flying Duck project at Umiam. It also urged the government to look into the just-completed but non-starter projects like the Cherrapunjee Orchid restaurant, the Wayside Orchid Hotel at Nongpoh and the closure of Thadlaskien Orchid Hotel. The union also demanded an inquiry into the fire at the water sports complex at Umiam where a large number of boats were gutted. It also asked the government to look into the mismanagement in the MTDC's transport unit. The union said two brand new chassis were purchased and given for body construction in 1993, but the buses are nor visible even eight years. The union also asked the government to look into the "destruction" of the lower floor of the Orchid Hotel at Polo Hills. The union alleged that the 20-room floor was handed over to the Institute of Hotel Management in 1999, but the IHM left it in a "destroyed" state. The union urged the government to see to it that the IHM restored the floor, as the loss of revenue was huge. The union has decided to go on a strike from March 26 if the government continues to turn a deaf ear to its grievances. Their demands include payment of arrears with effect from January 1, 1996 to April 30, 2000 and payment of house-building advance.