Editor,
In the news item” KHADC CEM talks tough on the Tenancy Bill “(ST 5thNov, 2013) it was stated that the CEM has asserted that the Council will not allow the proposed Bill to trample upon the customary practices as mandated by the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and that there is a fear that the formalities to be fulfilled under the proposed Bill will undermine the authority of the District Council. Whether there are customary practices on tenancy and how the Bill undermines the authority of the District Council is not clear as the present role of the District Council on tenancy I believe is not defined. Nevertheless, leaving these queries aside, the personal statement made by the CEM assumes significance and It clearly indicates that the proposed Tenancy Bill will run into rough weather given the fact that the traditional institutions such as the various Rangbah Shnong who would play a key role if the Tenancy Act is ever implemented at all, falls under the administrative control of the District Council. The consultation process with these traditional institutions as initiated by the State Government would therefore be an exercise in futility as of now since it is expected that the KHADC will take some time to make its stand clear on the Bill. The other District Councils will likely follow suit. Recently the KHADC also passed a unanimous resolution against the introduction of ILP in the state. This is as expected because the loyalty of the majority of the members in the Council would align with that of the political party which holds the majority in the State Government. The question that arises is what happen if the composition of the ruling political party in the KHADC is not the same as that in the State government and the Council instead passes the resolution for the introduction of the ILP in the State. Then the State Govt and Councils will go their separate ways. So to whom do we lend our support at the end of the day? We cannot however, overlook the fact that the District Council are the traditional bodies created by the Sixth Schedule with the aim of safeguarding the identity and survival of the tribal people. Therefore the threat of being swamped by outsiders should have been perceived by the Councils long time back and it is their mandate to keep a check on this. The State Government need only play a supportive role. Trading license, work permits and labour license to outsiders are issued by the District Council and if the Councils sincerely and effectively carry out their duties, the question of unabated influx and the subsequent need of introducing the ILP would perhaps never arise at all. It would be appropriate therefore for the NGOs to first take on the District Councils on the issue of influx rather than to take on the state Government head on. There was also a mention in the same news item that the CEM of KHADC would be convening a meeting of traditional heads of Durbar Shnong and Hima to discuss the prevailing law and order situation in the state. I do not know as to what further intent is there after the discussion and what will follow but I believe that law and order is a state government subject and when there is deterioration on this front, the state government through the District Administrations usually convene such meetings. Now it appears that the traditional heads will have to respond to both authorities or to respond to or reject either of the one. The point I wish to drive home is that as of now I am personally confused or maybe we all are a confused lot since the State Government and the District Councils now appear to be parallel authorities running the administration and control on many aspects in the state and the distinction of authority between these two if there are any, are not clearly defined and even if they are so defined there is a tendency of overlapping or conflicts. Our forests have disappeared, our rivers have been destroyed, our minerals are excessively and unscientifically exploited and now our very existence is as risk. All these happened because the District Councils and the State Government hesitate to converge. Instead they have divergent approaches to important issues and each has become more assertive for their own in their own way, day by day. The time has come for us to decide as to whether the District Councils or the State government would best serve our interests and to make a choice from amongst these two. For the interest of the few we cannot jeopardise the future of many.
Yours etc.,
K L Tariang,
Via email
