By Lancelot Ross Lyngdoh
The recent Hon’ble Supreme Court ruling to the regularly unfolding drama on the working mechanisms of the Dorbar Shnongs in Meghalaya has come as a welcome relief. This is especially so to many who have followed the drama unfolding the past year or so since the Hon’ble High Court ordered that Headmen were illegally administering without any locus-standi. The learned court has clubbed a large number of concerns raised by citizens under one petition. Money being demanded to issue certificates, people being ostracized for no legal or moral reason, misuse of public money are some of the complaints that the Hon’ble Supreme Court dealt with together with the legality of the Headman. It subsequently delivered a well-considered judgment directing the state government to ensure that there is uniform mechanism in which this crucial local body governance happens.
In this context it is pertinent to note that all stakeholders have faltered in reacting to the Hon’ble High Court order in December 10 2014, on the judgment delivered by Hon’ble Justice S R Sen. The State Government reacted by issuing a hurriedly made ordinance and the KHADC which already had a notified guideline on functioning of headmen (published in the Meghalaya Gazette on July 21, 2009,) didn’t know how to react. Throw in a bit of self-styled NGOs claiming to represent the concern of U Hynniewtrep, the confusion created thereafter by all the statutory bodies could have been resolved only by the venerable court which used its wisdom to deliver a judgment which could have far reaching consequences.
Residents of Meghalaya now have to ever vigilant now and see how the government and the district councils react to the Hon’ble Supreme Court directive. The state government and the KHADC need to be kept on their toes through reactions on every possible media platform that the people of this state cannot be fooled any longer. Our ignorance, our unwillingness to ask difficult and uncomfortable question and our laid-back attitude has allowed all the statutory bodies like the state government, KHADC, local dorbars and headmen to act as if they ruled by divine rights. Thanks to the Hon’ble Supreme Court, this will stop now.
A critical feature of the directive of the Hon’ble Supreme Court is that the Dorbar Shnongs have to be brought in the ambit of the RTI and elections held at regular intervals so as to ensure that grassroots governance happens with the best of intentions to benefit the people at large. In light of the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s judgment and observation it will be very interesting to take a case study of a few neighboring Dorbar Shnongs and how a body which is meant to deliver governance to people has hoodwinked and consistently fooled people. For example, the Dorbar Shnong of Madan Laban-Riat Laban when compared with other neighboring Dorbar Shnongs of Lawsohtun or Lumparing, present a very interesting case. All the three Dorbars coincidentally fall under a larger umbrella of Raid Laban Dorbar.
The Lawsontun Dorbar like other dorbars in Lumparing, Laban, etc in Shillong have been held regularly for the past few years with issues discussed openly in yearly meetings and office bearers accordingly being elected or otherwise as per their performance. The yearly Dorbars have ensured that the people get to question on issues that matter to them and accordingly elect representatives whom they believe to be most apt to address their concerns. It is a matter of great pride for any citizen of the state to see that executive members are being democratically elected every year, performers are rewarded with new tenures and all members of the Dorbar Shnong getting a chance to air their views at least once a year.
The Madan Laban-Riat Laban Dorbar unfortunately stands at the opposite end. A resolution was passed in the last general Dorbar held in 2011 giving it a mandate to function for 3 years. The tenure of the Executive by that parameter expired in 2013. But the Executive of the Dorbar which includes the Rangbah Shnong and Secretary have however tried to take the residents for a ride, playing on their patience and on the ineffective laws being passed by the state government. It continues to function, till date, without any concern for the mandate the honest people of Madan Laban-Riat Laban had given. The ‘illegal’ Executive has therefore been functioning for the past 3 years and this came to the fore when the supporting wall of a community ground recently collapsed and could have resulted in loss of human lives. Private property was damaged and it apparently seems that only a loss of human life would move the Headman and Secretary of the ‘illegal’ Executive to convene a meeting to discuss the matter. This example is only being taken to show and highlight the apathy of the Headman and Secretary to such a serious matter affecting the community. The state government and KHADC are equally to blame for this chaos that Dorbar Shnongs like Madan Laban-Riat Laban have created. KHADC and the state government went on fighting with each other to settle their egos while Dorbar Shnongs like the one in Madan Laban and possibly more in the state of Meghalaya have continued to befool people.
These two case studies could possibly give an insight to those concerned, especially individual citizens, that this is a golden opportunity to put forth our ideas before the Government and the KHADC. The SC will hear the case soon and it has mandated the state government, “submit a proposal as to what parts of the impugned order/directions the State Government deems appropriate for implementation with a view to ensure that Fundamental rights of the citizens particularly, the right to reside freely in any place of their choice is not adversely affected by the action of any statutory authority including Headmen.”
The state government should now bury the hatchet of one-upmanship and take a cue from the “Khasi Hills Autonomous District (Appointment and Succession of Syiem, Deputy Syiem, Electors and Rangbah Shnong of MylliemSyiemship) Act, 2007, published in the Meghalaya Gazette on July 21, 2009, which has already clearly laid down the basic guidelines on the functioning of Dorbar Shnongs and on which further amendments need to be added especially those pointed out by the Hon’ble Supreme Court. The Hon’ble Supreme Court directive needs to be followed in letter and spirit and this act passed by the KHADC in 2007 should be used as the starting point. Keeping in mind the concern of the Supreme Court the following amendments need to be made to the act to ensure that the Dorbar Shnongs are an effective tool of governance and not tools of nepotism.
The first and critical input is to bring the Dorbar Shnongs under the ambit of RTI. Before the ‘defenders’ of our community come to fore, let no one befool us that this cannot be done since Meghalaya falls under the 6th schedule. Not a single member of any Dorbar will now subscribe to such an argument since transparency is now a necessity in any form of governance. The onus now is upon the state government who in consultation with the KHADC should immediately make transparency a central theme of the new guidelines.
The second is of course to clearly lay down a timeline under which the Dorbars are to function. The tenure of most Dorbars are fixed through a resolution and as in the case of Madan Laban-Riat Laban Dorbar, it is not even being followed. Hence tenure of a year of two, but certainly not more should be mandated.
Of course, every resident should be allowed to hold a position irrespective of whether ‘he/she’is a government servant. The argument of not allowing a government servant serve in durbars for public good is as weak as saying a government servant should not vote. And certainly the chorus of allowing women to participate in Dorbars need to be incorporated. We cannot allow a handful decide on the fate of a community which also involves women and children as critical stakeholders. Civil society in Meghalaya has seen some astute and combative women leaders who have proved highly efficient beyond the hallowed offices of Dorbar Shnongs. What will stop them from contributing to Dorbar Shnongs where they live in?