SHILLONG: The 43-year-old Mukul Sangma, a medical graduate from NE Regional Medical College Imphal, represents Ampatigri Assembly constituency in the West Garo Hills on the western most tip of the state. Dr Sangma is set to become the second youngest chief minister of Meghalaya after PA Sangma, who was 41 when he became Chief Minister in 1988. With this new development the centre of political gravity will now shift to Garo Hills from the Khasi Hills which has dominated the politics of this State.
For Dr Mukul Sangma and wife Dikanchi D Shira, a Class I contractor and industrialist, this is no small gain but a double whammy. Ms Shira has varied interests in coal mining, cashew, spices, tea and bamboo plantations spread over different districts of the State. At one stage she had been exporting coal to Bangladesh as well.
Going by the public declaration of assets Dr Sangma is much 'poorer' to his wife. Ms Shira has been doing contract work for more than a decade. She owns coal mines, a brick manufacturing unit and a broom industry at Dainadubhi besides being the proprietor of DDS Infotech at Tura which is affiliated to Tata Infotech.
Before the 2008 elections, Dr Sangma declared that he owned three vehicles - a Scorpio, Palio and a Gypsy. One prized asset of his is a .32 bore revolver worth Rs 80,000. He also has a Sony laptop valued at Rs 1.4 lakh. His wife owns a laptop, much costlier Honda CRV along with two trucks obviously for business purposes.
According to the affidavit filed by Sangma, he owns teak plantations at two places in an area of 45 bighas at Marakaguru and Chandanpara. But these pale into insignificance when compared to his wife's assets. She owns agricultural land at five places, has cashew and spices plantation at Balonggre and Gambagiri in New Tura area, tea plantations at Waram Asimgre. She also owns a bamboo plantation spread over 40 acres at Marwat in Ri-Bhoi district.
The affidavit mentions that it is difficult to put a value to the plantation land until the trees mature. It also says that land in remote villages do not fetch much value because of total ban on transfer of land and non-availability of buyers.
Ms Dikanchi Shira owns coal mines at four places in West Khasi Hills of 9300 "running mt". The affidavit mentions that the value of the coal reserves in these quarries had not been "assessed".
With the wife of a powerful minister and many other ministers and their kin involved in the coal mining business it is surprising that the Mining Policy has taken so long to be implemented. Could it be that the Policy goes against the interests of the mining lobby?
It is said that Caesar's wife must be above suspicion. If the wife of the Chief Minister is a coal dealer the 'business' of illegal check-gates will hopefully reach a decent closure.
