SHILLONG: UDP MDC Paul Lyngdoh argued that there is no substance in the arguments of the Opposition members on the trade license issue during the winter session of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council on Wednesday.
While replying to the no-confidence motion moved by Congress MDC Lamphrang Blah on the queries from the Union home ministry regarding the matter, the Executive Member (EM) in- charge of Trade, said, “There is too much of noise and too little light”.
He observed that it is natural for the non-tribals to react if any authority inspects, intervenes and prevents them from carrying out their trade.
“This trade issue was taken up even at the level of the Prime Minister. Why the department has attracted much attention ever since the new EC took place and it is for the first time that we insisted on biometric information of the traders concerned”.
Citing a case where a trader came to know about the KHADC after 30 years, he said, “They (traders) are feeling the heat and the presence of the Council”.
Reading the content of the letter sent to the PMO which he said is misleading, Lyngdoh said, “….all traders have applied for renewal of trade licenses, but they have to complete tedious formalities of tribal traditional institutions, norms which are no longer applicable to non-tribals as per law”.
He continued, “Despite banning the power of headman (Rangbah Shnong), the District Council dares to insist non-tribal traders of any capacity to produce no-objection certificate for renewal”.
Lyngdoh said that this means that the traders are questioning the KHADC.
He added that the power to issue NOC to secure the trading license is not done in his individual capacity but empowered by Trading by Non-Tribal Regulation.
Lyngdoh quoted another portion of the letter, “The sad part is that today the KHADC which should have been abolished with the formation of Meghalaya is targeting business owners by making the process of renewing trade licenses extremely difficult, though trade licenses were easily renewed in earlier years now the said District Councils want us to get NOCs from the headmen of various localities”.
In this connection, Lyngdoh said, “You are asking why they went to the PMO. It is because the same people said that in the earlier years it was easy”.
