Appeal for administrator’s rule in KHADC
SHILLONG: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Wednesday met the Governor, Tathagata Roy, asking him to approve the ordinance on the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act and to also promulgate Administrator’s rule in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council.
“We have briefed the governor on the details of this act and urged him to approve the ordinance at the earliest”, the chief minister said while speaking to reporters later.
The ordinance was sent to the governor about a month ago.
To this, the chief minister said the governor had sought a lot of clarifications which the government has provided.”I think the clarifications have cleared some of the doubts. Let us see how the governor reacts. We are hoping to get a positive response”, Sangma said.
As for the clarifications the governor had sought, Sangma said these had to do with issues regarding how the entries are made, the people who come under the ambit of these rules, will relatives coming to meet people come under the purview of the act and whether they will have to register.
He also wanted to know whether the central rules regarding labour and migrant act will be over-ruled by the ordinance. The government said that those will remain and this is only an addition.
“We told him that all these will have to be defined in the rules after consultations”, he said.
The governor later told reporters he would decide after mature consideration and could not say how long it would take as these were important matters which require deliberation.
“The chief minister made a plea that time is of the essence. I will give due regard to his words and will do it as early as possible”, he said.
Asked about the growing demand for implementation of ILP in the state, the governor said that it is for the government to answer.
“ILP is a matter to be decided by the Central government. Like CAB for instance, citizenship is a matter of the Union government. So these are things which you have to ask the Government of India”, he said.
Administrator’s rule
On the government’s recommendation for administrator’s rule in the KHADC, Sangma said that instability still exists in the council as within a matter of ten days majority has been shifting from one side to another.
“This is not a very healthy practice leading to a lot of horse trading, leading to a lot of unhealthy environment within the council. This needs to be dealt with in a manner which would ensure stability in the system. Keeping this in mind, we have urged upon the governor to invoke Administrator’s rule in the council and hand over its administration to the Deputy Commissioner,” he said.
Sangma said that the governor has told him that he would go through all the facts and will accordingly exercise his mind.
“Here we are seeing a flip flop situation which is really not doing the KHADC’s image any good. Therefore, keeping in mind this fluid situation which is not healthy for the overall functioning and governance of the KHADC we felt that at this point of time, the governor should take over the administration so that things can settle down and a clear picture may emerge”, he said.