TURA: Seven organisations from Garo Hills while strongly voicing their opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) have decided to instead accept the conduct of National Registration of Citizens (NRC) in Garo Hills.
The decision to accept NRC over CAB followed a discussion on the issue among the seven organisations which included the Senior Citizens Forum, Dakopgre Development Forum, Garo Graduates’ Union (GGU), Mothers’ Union, A’chik Literature Society (ALS), Pensioners Association and the Nokma Council. “We are opposed to the CAB and have decided to accept the NRC in its place as we find it is more suitable,” they said.
Meanwhile, a discussion on the issue of proposed amendment of the Sixth Schedule with regard to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) also took place where the organisations offered suggestions to improve it.
As per the suggestions made by the organisations in their letter to the District Council Affairs Minister, the GHADC shall consist of 32 members, the composition of which shall be 29 elected members and three nominated members.
Out of the nominated members, one should be a Nokma and the other two reserved for women.
“A nokma is the woman who has inherited her a’”king land from her parents and holds the title ‘nokma’ as per the Garo traditional land holding system and entered as such in the GHADC records. The resolution on the number of members up to a maximum of thirty-two was taken in consideration of economy in the expenditure and fund management of the GHADC,” the organisations informed in their proposal letter.
They further suggested that all the nominated members should belong to the Garo tribe recognised as Scheduled Tribe in the Constitution of India and to ensure the same, all voters as well as contestants of the GHADC election should belong to the Garo tribe.
On the matter of village councils, the organisations stated that there should be one in each Lasker area and its composition should continue as per the existing provisions in the GHADC.
With regard to municipal councils, the organisations suggested that there should be 51 each for all the five districts of Garo Hills with 15 seats each.
With respect to the qualification for voting and being elected to the two councils, the organisations suggested that all the voters and contestants should be Garos, with the elections being on the basis of adult suffrage.
