SHILLONG : Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has said the government will not tolerate illegal collection from trucks, but maintained that authorities must have specific evidence before taking action.
Sangma was responding to questions after the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) raised allegations of illegal collection from trucks in the state.
The Chief Minister said the government’s position on the matter was clear and that such activities would not be allowed.
“We are very clear that in a situation like this obviously for us we want to ensure that none of these activities take place and action should be taken,” Sangma said.
However, he stressed that the government could not take action based solely on allegations and that specific proof would be required.
“In a situation like this obviously we need to work on specific proof and we cannot simply go on allegation,” he said.
Sangma said the government had taken action in the past whenever information regarding such activities was brought to its notice.
“Whenever we find such a situation, wherever such a thing is happening, any kind of information has come to us, we have taken action. In future also, if the need arises, we will take action,” he assured.
He further said authorities would have to examine the facts, figures and available evidence before reaching a conclusion.
Sangma reiterated that while the government would not permit illegal collection activities, any action would be based on evidence establishing that such activities had taken place.
“We have to ensure that all the facts and figures are looked into, all the evidence has to be there and whenever such a situation comes up, we are taking action,” he said.
The Chief Minister added that authorities should not jump to conclusions based solely on allegations and would instead examine the evidence before proceeding with action.