Kamalanagar, 24 May, 2021: In view of the unabated rise in cases of covid patients, a clear indication of community spread, in Chakma Autonomous District Council particularly within Kamalanagar town area the Executive Committee, Chakma Autonomous District Council today held a meeting in the office chamber of CEM, CADC to take stock of the situation and to discuss intervention thereof.

Dg. Durjya Dhan Chakma, CEM, CADC chaired the meeting and was attended by his colleague Executive Members and Executive Secretary, CADC.

The meeting constituted the much-needed CEM’s Relief Fund to provide assistance in times of disaster and natural calamity. The urgent need to constitute the Fund has been felt in the wake of fund constraint being faced to run the growing number of Covid Care Centres and Quarantine Centres that are being added with increasing number of covid positive cases.

As of today there are five Covid Care Centres and one quarantine centre.

The Fund will be managed by a Committee constituted with the CEM, CADC as Chairman, the Executive Secretary, CADC as Member Secretary, LAO, Sr.FAO, I&PRO and President, CYCA CADC as Members.

Guideline regulating the fund have been formulated and it shall be notified later on. A bank account will be opened in the SBI Chawngte Branch at the earliest for the Fund. Public donation, be it from individuals, Organizations, Trusts, Companies and Institutions will be accepted and receipt will be issued for each and every contribution received and the detail of the account will be made accessible online through the official website of CADC – cadc.gov.in.

It has also been decided that budgetary allocation will be made for the fund subject to availability of resources in the council.

Contribution to the fund has been inaugurated in the meeting itself with the Executive Committee deciding to set aside Rs.50,000/- out of MDC LAD Fund of each of the twenty MDC which shall amount to Rs.10 Lakhs.

The CEM, CADC Dg. Durjya Dhan Chakma stated that contribution to the fund shall be sought from institutions like SBI, HUDCO, LIC, etc.

In addition, the meeting also discussed on the pattern of funding to the three ADCs of Mizoram. Fund sharing between the three ADCs is determined based on certain criteria like population, area, distance from Aizawl to the concerned District Council Headquarter, literacy rate and number of electrified villages as reflected in the 1st Mizoram Finance Commission Report.

Comparative study of allocation of fund to the three ADCs in the last seven years revealed that the criteria for sharing of fund among the three ADCs has not been maintained.

The meeting decided that the matter will be brought to the notice of the Mizoram Government and the Second Mizoram Finance Commission for necessary course correction. The meeting also observed that the two criteria – literacy and number of electrified villages seemed to be flawed and unreasonable which should instead be illiteracy and number of unelectrified villages.

It was also decided that ‘distance from district headquarters’ shall be pursued for inclusion as a new criteria which is the direct bearing on CADCs budget.