Shillong: The KSU has raised its objection to the passage to the Meghalaya Community Participation (MCP) Bill 2011 saying it is anti-people.
The Bill is against the interest of the local indigenous people in particular and the people of the State in general, KSU president Samuel Jyrwa said after submitting the Union’s recommendations to the Assembly Secretary on Thursday.
The House Select Committee had sought views and suggestions from various stakeholders, traditional institutions and the public on the Bill.
“We called upon the State Government to rescind or keep in abeyance the passing of this Bill,” Jyrwa said.
The State should ensure meaningful association and engagement of the autonomous district councils along with the traditional institutions by authorising them to carry out development programmes in the context of the proposed Bill, the KSU leader said.
He also suggested the Government should instead strengthen the traditional institutions through constitutional recognition by extending the applicability of Article 371 of the Constitution to Meghalaya, in line with similar arrangements in the cases of Nagaland and Mizoram (371A, 371G respectively).
Jyrwa also observed that the Bill is intricately linked to the proposed municipal election which is opposed by the people of the State.
The Bill is only to satisfy the conditionality of the JNNURM scheme which requires certain reforms to be undertaken by states/cities in implementing the 74th Amendment to the Constitution, with the objective of implementing decentralisation measures, the KSU leader said.
“We feel that this proposed Bill will destroy the system of traditional governance and administration as practised since time immemorial,” he said adding, “Exploiting the tribal areas without adequately protecting the tribes is not only a violation of our constitutional rights but is also counterproductive in the long run.”