By H. H. Mohrmen
The district councils are the oldest administrative institutions in the area, second only to the traditional institutions. Before the state of Meghalaya was created, part of what is now known as the State of Meghalaya was earlier known as the Khasi Jaintia Hills District Councils under the composite state of Assam. The Khasi Jaintia Hills District Council (KHADC) has been in existence much before the State was created. After that a section of the society was of the opinion that by creating a separate State for the three tribes in the area the district councils have become redundant. The abiding question since then has been whether there is still a need for the District Councils in the State or whether they have become redundant.
This column feels that it is duty bound to raise difficult questions and sometimes tough and uncomfortable questions that need to be asked. And there is no better time to raise this pertinent question than now when two of the Autonomous District Councils in the state are going to the polls before the end of the month. The question that still haunts the people’s mind is the same one that was asked earlier – is there a need to retain the ADCs when the state is being run by the tribals themselves? What is the need for district councils in areas with a predominantly tribal population? Who are we afraid of? Many people that I have asked this uncomfortable question to argue in favour of continuance of district councils because the fate of the people employed in these Councils are at stake. The common response is that if we decide to do away with the Institutions a large number of people will become unemployed. But that is not the reason why the ADCs were created although in the course of their existence many people have been gainfully employed in the administrative units of the three ADCs. But what is the purpose of having an institution with such huge machinery that evidently does not deliver?
One of the main objectives of the Sixth Schedule is what I call the three ‘Ps’ – to protect, preserve and promote tribal culture and traditions. But the question is whether the ADCs have been able to do so. In more than 40 decades since the creation of the State do we feel secure and confident that our identity as the children of u Hynniewtrep is intact or do we feel threatened that we are gradually losing our identity? Are tribal themselves interested in protecting and preserving their culture and traditions? What can the ADCs do if the people themselves are not interest in protecting their customs and traditions? The KHADC was able to partially codify the customary practices of the people in the area but not the JHADC nor the GHADC.
Earlier the administration of Lower Primary schools was the subject of the District Council but when the State Government took over the LP schools from the ADCs because of maladministration, it looks like the District Councils are only glad that they have been relieved of the responsibility of managing and controlling LP schools. Gradually the state is stripping off the powers and function of the District Councils. Now even collection of royalty from major minerals which was earlier done by the ADCs is being collected by the state government.
There is this growing trend in KHADC that most of the MLAs also hold office as members of respective District Councils. How can these members who hold dual posts simultaneously enjoy the benefits of the two offices? And the other pertinent question is if one person can perform the task of MLA and MDC at the same time, is there really a need of having a separate institution? If an MLA can also be an MDC simultaneously, the implication is that one of the offices is not really a full time job. Hence from this point of view the office of the MDC is not even a full time job because if both are full time occupations tthen one person would find it difficult to be both an MLA and an MDC, apart from the clash of interests, in view of the existence of Para 12 (A) in the Sixth Schedule.
Then the next important question that needs to be asked is what kind of relationship do the Councils have with the common people? Are the public going to lose anything if there are no district councils? Except for the KHADC none of the other two Councils have been able to codify the customary practices of the people. It seems that the codification of customary practices is not even an issue with the two Councils. The other moot question is – are tribals in the areas still interested in following the customary practices? Right now people approach the Councils for registration of their land and the Council courts also hear cases but the relation of the Councils with the traditional institutions is not healthy as it is supposed to be.
Thankfully the Inner Line Permit (ILP) issue has taken a back seat now. Yet one cannot deny the fact that the District Councils are equally responsible for the imbroglio. It is because the District Councils have failed in their duty to control trading by non tribal in their respective jurisdictions that has created the threat perception in the minds of the common people that non locals are taking away their jobs from them. The Act clearly states that the Council can only issue trading license to non locals on those businesses that the tribals of the area are not competent to carry out.
Management and control of rivers is the subject of the District Councils but they have done nothing to protect and preserve rivers in their respective jurisdictions. The encroachment on the bank of the rivers which is happening almost everywhere in the state is due to the negligence of the Councils in the area to carry out their mandate. In Jaintia hills all the rivers in the coal mine areas are polluted yet the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council has done nothing to reclaim the rivers, neither does it have any plans to protect those that have not been affected by mining.
Only a small portion of the forests in the State like the reserve forests, sanctuaries and national parks fall under the jurisdiction of the state forest department. All other forests in the state are under the District Councils. Hence the Councils are in control of a large forested area, therefore if there is a fall in the area under forest cover the blame should squarely be on the Councils. Of course there is gradual encroachment into the reserve forests and national parks in the State, but this is nothing when compared to the rapid degradation of forests in the areas which falls under the jurisdiction of the Councils. The entire Lumchnong, Nongtalang and forests in the coal mining areas fall under the jurisdiction of the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council and forests were cleared in this area without any consideration and in many cases armed with an NOC from the Council.
The strength of the Council can also be judged from the numbers of days that the they are in session be it the winter, summer or budget session. Of late the sessions of the councils have become so brief that they do not last not even for a single day. If the sessions are brief it means that the Councils do have much business to transact. So if Councils have no business to conduct it implies that they are redundant.
Former and current members of the District Council agree that as time goes the ADCs have been stripped off their functions and in the state of Meghalaya where para 12 A of the constitution is in operation, the ADCs are marginalized by the State Government. But again the question is, “Do we still need the ADCs and for what?” It is important for voters to deliberate upon and answer this question honestly.