Govt refuses to accept new KHADC CEM

SHILLONG: While the political drama is yet to end in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC), Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has maintained that the state government is not interfering with the affairs of the KHADC as the council does not have a Chief Executive Member (CEM).
Talking to media persons here on Tuesday, the chief minister said, “No I don’t think we are interfering with anything and as far as our knowledge goes there is no CEM right now.”
However, the Governor had approved the election of CEM Latiplang Kharkongor though the government does not want to recognise it.
The expelled NPP MDC and chairman of KHADC, PN Syiem had on Monday said that the state government should not interfere too much with the affairs of the district council and if the NPP-UDP combine has the majority they can ask for the session of the House and remove the CEM on the floor of the House or wait for the decision till March when they can move a no-confidence against the CEM.
To a question, the chief minister said that no notification has been issued by the state government and there has been no information that has come to the government.
“Without any information coming to us there is no question of government notifying therefore as far our knowledge goes, there is no notified CEM as of now,” he said.
Earlier, District Council Affairs Minister James Sangma had maintained that the state government was examining the political situation in the KHADC and also looking at the order of the governor approving the election of the new CEM without consulting the District Council Affairs department.