By Toki Blah
To say that the people of Shillong and the state as a whole are totally baffled by the ongoing controversy over MUDA (Meghalaya Urban Development Authority) jurisdiction, would be the understatement of the year. Fact is all of us are intrigued by the whole affair. It’s beyond the understanding of the ordinary person and further light needs to be shed on this important issue. However, before one proceeds further, it would be prudent to agree on some pertinent existing facts. Fact No one – by 2017 Shillong is a growing city. It contains a population of more than 5,00,000 way beyond the 5000 odd people envisaged by the British for this picturesque hill station 200 years ago. Today it is a bustling metropolis besieged and plagued by universal urban problems such as over congestion, overflowing drains, leaking water mains, unmanageable traffic, hawker infestation, environmental pollution, inadequate social amenities, you name it. Obviously, even the most dim witted will agree that, practical urban planning, organisation and management are key to our future well-being as Nong Shillong.
Fact No 2 pertains to the existence and establishment of basic amenities that modern 21st century urban society depends on for a decent existence. Of prime importance is the adequate and proportional existence (proportional to a growing population) of health care institutions, educational institutions, secure housing, safe drinking water, usable roads and recreational facilities. Once again it is obvious to all that the establishment of such facilities has not kept pace with nor are they proportional to the growth of Shillong. Functional (different from decorative) hospitals exist only in the Barik -Laitumkhrah area with NEIGHRIMS in New Shillong. In life and death situations, people of other outlaying areas of the city, haplessly struggle through narrow congested roads to reach life saving medical facilities! For some unfortunate patients; for households who have lost loved ones because of the inability to access emergency health care in time, the functional hospitals might as well have been on the moon for all the good they did. A sad statement to our inability to plan the city as per the requirements and needs of its inhabitants for 2017!
The same applies to the establishment of our educational institutions. Credible and so called elite schools and collages of the city are strictly localised and there appears to be no vision to establish similar institutions in other areas of Shillong. Students all over struggle to reach the institutions of their choice! In the field of sports and recreational centres the same sad story applies. There is this ridiculous notion that Meghalaya’s sports facilities are to be confined to the Polo area only and nowhere else. If we are so concerned with the wellbeing of our children what prevents us from creating more such recreational facilities in the rest of our localities? Non availability of land is usually cited as the root cause for the non establishment of basic infrastructure in our state. This has been identified as the main cause for the failure of development to take off. If this is true then the District Councils, those extraordinary 6th Schedule institutions of Meghalaya constitutionally empowered to “allot, occupy, use or set apart land for any purpose likely to promote the interests of the tribals” have a lot to answer for. They have clearly failed in their mandate. They have failed to apply their minds on crucial issues of development; failed to coordinate with the state Govt to bring about the concept of Good Governance; failed to identify what constitutes my and your interest. The continued existence of the District Councils as Constitutional institutions therefore needs to be critically reviewed.
Lets turn back to this whole unholy MUDA ruckus between the KHADC and the State Government. A serious allegation has been made against the State Govt that it has used MUDA Bye laws to intrude, encroach and invade our 6th Schedule land. Such language was last heard of in 1962 against the Chinese. This time the alleged invasion of Khasi land, is by no other than our own elected state Govt, composed mainly of indigenous Khasis. Wow!!!. Emotions have been stoked to a pitch. “Raise up, Oh ka Jaitbynriew, your sacred 6th Schedule land must be protected”. But who is there to protect us from our own Govt? The KHADC has stepped forward as the self proclaimed protector, an institution again composed of similarly elected Khasi politicians. The pot calling the kettle black. How ridiculous can people get! Now, how this dysfunctional, bankrupt and decrepit institution proposes to protect us, is a secret shared only between the Council and God Almighty alone! Why should public faith repose on elected MDCs but not on elected MLAs is a mystery that remains to be unravelled. The battlecry however has been sounded. “Listen Oh Ka Jaitbynriew, there is a threat. The alarm must be raised to its highest level. The electorate must start looking round for protectors and saviours”. That the 2018 Assembly elections are just round the corner is simply coincidental, and should never be considered as the prime cause for all this fuss!
Another question must now be asked. What is MUDA and why this opposition to its proposed expansion? The Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) as its name suggests is simply a department tasked with the planned development of the urban centres of Meghalaya. To facilitate MUDA’s task the Meghalaya TOWN & COUNTRY PLANNING ACT, 1973 (adapted from the Assam Act) was passed and as per Section 1(2), of this act “the Meghalaya Town & Country Planning Act, 1973 extends to the entire State of Meghalaya excluding Autonomous Districts.” Are you serious? In adapting the Act from its Assamese original, a careless copy and paste job by some secretariat babu in 1973 dealt MUDA its death blow. The Karbi and NC district councils were excluded from the Assam Town & Country Planning Act, and this makes complete sense. In Meghalaya’s case when the whole of Meghalaya is a 6th Schedule area, excluding district councils from the provisions of the Act is absolute nonsense. Building Bye laws and Master Plans were later made in an attempt to nullify this nonsense. It was a legal anomaly as no byelaw or rule can ever override the parent Act itself and hence the nonsense was further compounded. The MDCs of KHADC are making political hay out of this legal nonsense. The state Govt on the other hand seems more interested in enforcing the spirit of the Act (to bring in uniformity in building regulations) than in the legal ambiguities involved. The matter is now pending in the Court of law. The ball is in the Judicial court. Only time will tell whether what we are all witnessing today is simply just another drama and utterly pointless political standoff!
Questions are also being raised about the role of our traditional institutions, the Dorbars, in the ongoing tussle. I personally believe that this is an unconnected and irrelevant question. The issue under discussion relates to the planned development of Shillong city. The Dorbar Shnongs either individually, through their Synjuk or now through the SNSBH have never shown the slightest interest in the civic governance or the civic development of Shillong city as a whole. Perhaps its because Khasi tradition has no concept of urban governance and as such the focus of the traditional durbars, either individually or collectively, has always been on preserving tradition at the Shnong level rather than using tradition to uplift Shillong’s urban image. In the political standoff between the state Govt and the KHADC, over MUDA building byelaws, the security of high rise buildings and the safety of citizens has unfortunately been sacrificed at the altar of confrontational politics. The SNSBH could have played such an effective role as an unbiased mediator in the whole unsavoury affair. The citizens of Meghalaya would have benefited from the intervention of a strong unbiased traditional body that carries the respect of all. Unfortunately the SNSBH chose to take sides and a golden opportunity for tradition to make an impact on modern urban governance in Meghalaya was lost. How unfortunate !
Where does this leave the ordinary citizen of this beautiful city? I’m afraid it will leave us as confused; as scared; as fearful and as apprehensive as before. The city has no vision for the future; it has no leaders and as such is left to its own gloomy silence. Shillong will continue to be driven by fear and not hope. Because of unfounded fear, a universal urban management institution known as a Municipality, is irrationally considered a threat. Tradition is being trumpeted as the saviour of us all ignoring the fact that tradition has no alternative to offer on how to cope and manage a growing metropolis. The most tragic part is the dumb pathetic silence of the public, a silence that has encouraged the emergence of a new city elite – street hawkers. There is a belief that only the Judiciary can now save the day, but will it? A Whatsapp post doing the rounds comes to mind. It goes like this – Mahatma Gandhi went up to God to ask him as to what happened to his three monkeys. God replied they are all happy and have all been all institutionalised. The one which was “deaf” has now become the Govt including other institutions tasked with governance. The one that was “blind” had become the judiciary. The last which was “mute” has become the citizens of this state. I guess we will continue to say Amen to that!