THOSE in the fray for the Khasi and Jaintia Hills District Council polls scheduled for this month are working hard to win their seats. Sitting members of both the Councils are digging in their heels to retain their seats. Elections both to the state assembly and the district councils are rigmarole. In the case of the latter the deliverables are not clearly stated to the electorate, hence the need to deliver is also absent. The electorate too finds it difficult to hold the MDCs accountable. While an MLA has a host of deliverables ranging from employment to good roads, water supply, health care et al, what does an MDC have to do but talk of protecting customary practices? We now have to ask them how they are going about protecting this culture and how much they have succeeded?
In the case of the KHADC, one good attempt at showcasing culture and heritage within their jurisdiction was through the Monolith festival. It drew a record number of visitors despite the cold. But the question is whether that little space in Mawphlang, right next to the Sacred Grove can take so many footfalls? Was there a proper system of garbage disposal and management considering there were so many visitors and so much food around? How much of garbage has spilt over into the Sacred Grove? Was there a standard operating procedure about managing that Festival well beyond its completion? Normally organizers don’t think beyond the immediate. And this goes for most church services as well! This is where the media could have done an audit. It’s important to see if funds are allocated for garbage clearance and for restoration of the place to its former orderliness. All this would also suggest good, meticulous planning.
But coming to the real issue of election to the KHADC and JHADC several thinkers have raised the issue as to whether the ADCs have outlived their utility and have become just a cosy little nest for making money from selling off forests, leasing out rivers, giving trade licenses to non-tribals and collecting taxes from markets. These are serious questions that must be debated instead of just getting into a mindless cycle of election for the heck of it.
