SHILLONG: KHADC CEM Pynshngain N Syiem on Monday asked the State Government to pay heed to the writing on the wall and respect the voice of the people who are against the Ordinance passed by the Government for empowering the traditional institutions and headmen.
“The ruling coalition in the KHADC (PDF) also subscribes to the feelings of the people. Therefore, our stand is very clear that we will not allow the ordinance to be tabled in the Assembly,” Syiem told newspersons on Monday, while pointing out that He said that the various political parties and NGOs were also opposing the ordinance.
To a query on whether this was a tussle between the Congress-led State Government and the Congress-led Executive Committee in the KHADC, Syiem said the question of tussle did not arise since they were backing the voice of the people.
To another question on the double standard exhibited by District Council Affairs Minister H.D.R. Lyngdoh for being part of the State Cabinet which passed the ordinance and at the same time attending the KHADC special session which opposed the ordinance, the KHADC CEM said it will be difficult on his part to comment anything on the matter.
He was quick to add that the best person to answer the question was the DCA minister himself.
When reminded that the Chief Minister was very much in favour of the ordinance, the KHADC chief said they will not allow the ordinance to be passed since it infringed into the jurisdiction of the Council.
“I must remind that even the AICC president Sonia Gandhi had backed the KHAD (Village Administration) Bill, 2015. Therefore, the PDF is very clear that they are not going to compromise on this issue,” Syiem asserted.
Meanwhile, three pressure groups – Khasi Students’ Union, Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People and the Khasi Women Welfare and Development Association – on Monday demanded scrapping of the Ordinance and incorporation of two important sections in the rectified KHAD (Village Administration) Bill, 2014.
“We will not accept the ordinance at any cost. We demand that the State Government should scrap the ordinance,” KSU president Daniel Khyriem told reporters after a meeting here on Monday.
The KSU president also stated that the ordinance, if passed, will supersede the Residential Bill proposed by the 13 pressure groups as part of the comprehensive mechanism to check influx, adding that the ordinance would also intrude on the powers of the traditional institutions and the district council.”
Demanding incorporation of important sections in the Village Administration Bill passed by the KHADC with regards to the issuance of permanent certificates and to check influx, Khyriem said the government should consider adding ‘sub section 8 and sub section 16 of section 5’ in the original bill before sending it to the Governor for his assent.
According to him, removal of these sections has killed the spirit of the VAB.
“Any outsiders who comes to reside in the state for two days can easily get a residential certificate which is not acceptable,” he said.
