Sonia’s departure ails NAC, members agree with Roy

Roy’s parting shot read, ‘‘The regularity of the meetings and the presence of the chairperson at each one of them, also contributed to the NAC being seen by citizens’ groups as a forum of public consultation. I do think this space has been reduced, there have been no regular meetings of the NAC in the last four months.’’

NAC member and former vice-chancellor of North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) Prof Mrinal Miri said, ‘‘In the absence of a chairman, there’s no provision of an interim arrangement…. If the government wants NAC to function, sooner they appoint a chairman, better it is (for

the NAC).’’

Another council member, on condition of anonymity, said, ‘‘We accept this or not, the NAC has lost its teeth after Sonia Gandhi quit from the chairperson’s position.’’

Aruna Roy, in her missive, also wrote about the government’s inaction in the Narmada rehabilitation programme.

However, NAC members refused to agree on this. As D Swaminadhan, a former Planning Commission member, said, ‘‘Her views on Narmada are her own. The government is doing its bit.’’

Roy’s views on RTI and NREGA implementation — ‘‘I have also been concerned by the attempts from some quarters, within the government, to dilute both the RTI and the NREGA through a variety of means’’— also didn’t find favour with the fellow members of the council.