6th Schedule Amendment: Has  Meghalaya missed the bus?

By Toki Blah

On the 24^th of January 2019 Meghalaya and the North East woke up to the electrifying news of a momentous and historic amendment to the 6^th Schedule of the Constitution of India. This amendment passed by the Union Cabinet but yet to be rectified by Parliament, pointed towards significant improvement in the financial resource and administrative enhancement of the Autonomous District Councils of North Eastern India. It spoke of direct adult franchise for village and municipal councils. There would be 33% reservation for women in such elections. Thus woman empowerment, a basic governance prerequisite of the 21^st century, was catered to in the ADCs even before the same could be said for State Assemblies and the Indian Parliament  itself. The constitution of a State Finance Commission to oversee the proper devolution of necessary funds to the District Councils was also established together with the necessary provisos for adequate transfer of funds. There will be a State Election Commission to supervise elections to the District Councils, the Village councils and the municipal councils. The village councils in turn were to be now empowered to plan, formulate and execute development projects on a wide ranging canvas including land improvement, agriculture, land reforms, PHE, minor irrigation, animal husbandry among others. Seen from this perspective the term ‘Game Changer’ for the NE is most apt and fitting. The ordinary village Dorbar, that grassroots governance institution of the region is now set to become a force to be reckoned with in future governance, political and administrative exercises of the NE. Its an empowering legislature long overdue.

            Of interest therefore is the appendage to the above amendments of a proviso that exempts Meghalaya, and only Meghalaya, “for the time being” from the purview for elected village and municipal councils and one third reservation for women.  Why have the District Councils and our grassroots institutions of governance been left out? This really is most intriguing and letting curiosity get the better of me, I rang up a senior functionary in the Govt to find out the reason why this happened. He answered that this was as per the specific wishes of the ‘stakeholders’ whom the Govt had consulted with before submitting Meghalaya’s views to the Central Govt! The views of these influential ‘stakeholders’ was that the term ‘Village Council’ was most offensive to traditional sentiment as it smacks of Panchayati Raj vintage. Wow, what logic, for as far as I know the direct translation of Dorbar Shnong is Village Council. What else could it be? No adult franchise or direct elections to the village councils (in our case dorbars or Song Committees ) because politics might pollute our traditional system which has always been apolitical. We don’t want Panchayats. True to a certain extent, but the politically neutral profile of our grassroots institutions could have been protected in another way. For instance it could have been insisted that party politics be barred from Village Council elections. The purpose would have been served. The “stakeholders” also found that the inclusion of women participation and  33% reservation of seats for women in the District and village councils as most offensive to traditional practices and custom. It was the most ridiculous and regressive argument ever offered in the 21^st century. Misogynistic double talk at its worst!  One wonders if women organisations of the state, Seng Kynthei, Mothers Union or prominent women of the state were party to such views or if women in principle were ever identified as stakeholders fit for consultations. If not, then why not? Does this Govt consider them to be lesser beings? Why this pick and choose policy? Sorry but the State Govt has a lot to answer for!

            One of the promises of this amendment is the devolution of ample funds to the District Councils, the village and municipal councils. In other words it means that Direct funding, that mouth watering manna  from the Centre Govt to our grassroot institutions will at last begin. Our Dorbars will  now be at par with Gram Panchayats and Gram Sabhas in the rest of the  country. But direct funding is part and parcel of Panchayati governance system. Now why has this aspect of the Panchayati Raj not been opposed by the so called traditionalist stakeholders? The magic smell of money can obviously melt the most stringent traditionalist heart! If that is the answer then the next question is – do the  District Councils, through which the funding will occur, possess or hold administrative credibility, fiscal integrity and financial trustworthiness as far as handling of public money and funds is concerned? Of greater importance is the question as to whether our grassroot institutions, as they are today without any empowerment or capacity building, be capable of handling huge public funds aimed at bringing in development to the people? The manner in which Dorbars and Song Committees manage funds (except perhaps for a few in the urban areas) is questionable and leaves much to be desired. They just don’t have the capacity, manpower, expertise nor experience to manage huge sums of money. Some have no treasurers, no accounting system and some even don’t hold regular elections for their office bearers. They run more or less on an adhoc basis. They need more capacity building, the regulation and monitoring of an official external body such as the State Election Commission to breath in life and vibrancy into our traditional bodies. We have rejected this offer and in doing so have we reduced tradition to the realm of redundancy and incompetence?

            Any piece of legislature should not be considered only for its immediate effect but of greater import is the long term impact of such laws. Our dorbars might now soon start getting ample funds through the District Councils. What will be the long term impact of such events on the Dorbars, the District councils and society itself? Our District Councils are notorious and infamous for their lack of transparency and accountability. ADC jurisdiction will be the area where money can be spent, made and pocketed with more comparative ease than in the State Govt. Secondly the hub where most of the activity will take place will be the Village Dorbar and the search for like minded partners to spend the money with will be the main focus of the Executive Committee of most ADCs. ADCs will start interfering more and more in the election and appointment of Rangbah Shnongs and Gaonburas as within the new scenario, pliable Village Headmen will be seen as assets to be cultivated and protected. The Dorbar will be turned into a business hub. There now exists a standing constitutional invitation for ruthless business men to enter both ADC and village dorbar elections. From a Social oriented institution manned by respectable and reputed members of the society, the dorbar of the future will be composed of men of straw out for personal profit and turnovers. They will be people more on the lookout for their own self interest than the interest and welfare of the people. They will be beholden and politically compromised by their political masters in the ADC. Saleable politics would have entered our dorbars by the back door.  To this extend the visionless stakeholders will have destroyed our traditional dorbars forever. It will never be the same again. A village dorbar with no elected representative, devoid of gender sensitivity and not empowered to plan for its own future will simply disintegrate into chaos and confusion. Our dorbars will transform from the respected social service centres that they are into sleazy squabbling business hubs.

The amendment of the 6^th Schedule to the Constitution of India should be seen as an attempt  to bring in change into the traditional system of grassroots governance in so far as the indigenous tribal systems of NE India are concerned. Change is catching up with us and we need to have a vision on how to meet this change. A vision will help us drive change and its events into a predetermined destiny. Sadly for Meghalaya ‘stakeholders’ and the Govt have rejected change. We had no vision and so were not prepared to accept that change is inevitable.  Being unprepared we have asked to be exempted from change  and we got it. The Govt of India has exempted, “for the time being”, Meghalaya from these amendments. Please rest assured that “ for the time being” means forever. It might take another hundred years for a fresh opportunity for change to come our way.  Visionless ‘stakeholders’ with an equally pliant Government have let us down. Frankly speaking it appears we have missed the bus! Perhaps only recourse left is 7^th Schedule of  our Constitution, Para 5 of the State List. State Govt can still make laws to save the day. We can still bring in viable reforms to our traditional grassroots institutions. Point is, does this Govt have the guts and vision to do it?

(The writer is President, ICARE)