By Daiaphira Kharsati
SHILLONG: The elections to the Khasi Hills and the Jaintia Hills autonomous district councils are on Wednesday.
The councils play a key role in development at the grassroots level and upholding tradition and culture. However, many a time the relevance of these traditional bodies has been questioned. Are these bodies only a rump in the federal structure?
The Shillong Times spoke to a cross-section of people on what they feel about the elections and whether the councils have made any difference in the state since 1952. Questions were also posed on the relevance of district councils.
Michael Syiem, PIL
mover against council
A few years ago, RTI activist Michael Syiem had filed a PIL in the High Court of Meghalaya questioning the relevance of autonomous district councils in Meghalaya.
Speaking to this newspaper, Syiem said he filed the PIL in his individual capacity. He has made the Centre, the state government and the district councils as parties.
The Division Bench of the Meghalaya High Court comprising Chief Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir and Judge SR Sen will hear the PIL on February 25.
“My stand is the same. Councils are not relevant now as we have our own state and the presence of para 12(a) of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution makes it even more irrelevant,” he said.
As per para 12 (a), the laws passed by Parliament or Assembly will supersede similar laws passed by the councils. According to him, the proposed amendment to the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution will benefit only the district councils like Bodo and Karbi in Assam.
“In our state we have para 12(a). As long as there is para 12 (a), the legislative power of district councils is not relevant. KHADC CEM, HS Shylla passed many bills but it leads nowhere,” he said.
Asked if it is all about extravagant expenditure, Syiem recalled the statement of the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, KC Pant, who had said that the establishment cost of district councils “is very high and the money flows to establishment and not much will go to development”.
Asked whether he supports the bills passed by Shylla, Syiem reiterated that it led nowhere because of para 12 (a).
Fabian Lyngdoh, former KHADC chairman
Fabian Lyngdoh said the main focus of district councils is on protection of tribal identity and safeguarding customary practices.
“In the present situation, it is relevant and it is required. We cannot do away with it. Until we have clean water, we cannot throw away the dirty one,” he said.
Asked, he said the benefit of the council is not in terms of giving development or helping the people at the grassroots level but it is a guard for the interests of the whole tribe.
“The district council is there to act as a guard for the whole tribe and not of individuals. That is the purpose of district councils, to act as a guard. The state government and the MLAs consider people as individuals and not as a tribe,” Lyngdoh said.
He maintained that the district council is not competent and not the right authority to disburse schemes and it is the responsibility of the state government to disburse all developmental works.
MPR Lyngdoh, educationist
MPR Lyngdoh said the representatives to the district councils should be insightful and should have a deep understanding of the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Asked about the relevance of the councils, she said everything should be taken into consideration while expressing hope about the amendment to the Sixth Schedule. “We look forward to better things. The district council has its own duties to perform.”
Lyngdoh said many prominent persons have come up in the district council. According to her, the tribal communities of Khasis and Jaintias are in need of prominent personalities.
VGK Kynta, senior advocate
VGK Kynta said the autonomous district council should have been a party-less institution with no political interference or participation and this has diluted its very essence.
“I cannot vouch for ADCs to be irrelevant at the moment since we cannot deny that the core issues of preserving the distinct cultures of the Khasis and Jaintias are the order of the day,” he said.
Kynta said lawmaking is within the realm of the subjects enumerated in the Sixth Schedule and such laws passed by ADCs can be overridden in the event of conflicts with state laws.
However, he expressed doubts if authorities such as the judiciary or executive can empower ADCs to legislate or make rules when the source of lawmaking is restricted to those subjects cited in the schedule.
“If yes, then it will run contrary to the apex court findings where it says that ADCs don’t have plenary powers unlike legislature of state and parliament. Law making is what the MDCs will have to undertake and proper knowledge of parliamentary practice and conducts will require to be introduced,” he said.
On the other hand, he hoped that the amendment to bring in anti-defection laws similar to the Tenth Schedule will come into force to stop party-hopping.
Common people speak
When The Shillong Times spoke to common people busy in their daily business, these were the common answers: “We don’t go to meetings,” “We vote to whoever our family discusses about,” “We are busy in our daily business, we don’t have time to meet representatives also.”