By H.H. Mohrmen
The main problem that the urban areas in the state are facing is not that there is no proper waste disposal system, but rather the absence of a democratically run Urban Local Body. It is rather sad that even after 50 years of its existence the state does not have a system in place to run its towns and cities. The world is on the move and naturally the towns and cities have outgrown the dorbar shnong, but not the way towns and city is administered in the state. The need of the hour is for the government to take a fresh look at the issue. The problem that we have in town and cities from waste disposal to traffic is also partly because of the absence of a functional urban local bodies in Meghalaya.
Town in the garb of the dorbar shnong
Every town and the city in the state is an urban area albeit with a rural mindset. The reason is because every town in the state is urban in its setup but run by many dorbar shnong. These dorbar shnong function on their own without any coordination or even cooperation with the adjacent dorbar in the same town. This is one main reason why we have failed miserably in urban management in the state. The current awkward situation that we have found ourselves in Meghalaya is because successive governments have failed to address this very important issue.
This leaves us in a situation where we have a town or a city in the garb of a dorbar shnong, where although the dorbar shnongs are within the town/city limits, but they function independent of each other. It is a town or city but run by many dorbar shnong within the town. There is no avenue, permanent platform or institution where the different dorbar shnongs of the town meet and cohesively discuss common issues faced by the people of the town. The classic case is that of Wah Umkhrah in Shillong which passes through many dorbar shnong and that is also precisely the reason why efforts to clean it has failed. When one community goes gung-ho in its efforts to clean the river, the adjacent dorbar are not interested and this holds back the interest of the first party.
The question that one needs to ask is whether we can run our town and cities by many dorbar shnong the mandate of which is the interest of their respective dorbar shnong only? Can towns and the city in the state function without an institution which will look at the overall interest of and common issues of the entire town or city. Can we have an institution which looks beyond their respective dorbar shnong?
Municipal in name only
One may say that of course, we already have Municipalities in places like Shillong, Tura and Jowai but the question that begs the answer is how do these municipalities function? Are they really functioning to their full potential? For many years now no election was conducted by the state government to elect ward commissioners to these municipalities. In fact in some municipalities no election was held since the very inception of that particular municipality. These municipalities are run by the department of urban affairs which is only collecting tax or building fees without any public representation. Hence in Meghalaya all the Municipal boards exist in name only. And even in places where the government had appointed a chairman of the Board, the chairman is akin to a prime minister without a cabinet. One wonders how the chairman functions. The appointment merely became an opportunity for the government to accommodate the party’s supporters.
Government Neglecting Urban Development
Fifty years ago when the state was created out of the composite state of Assam, young Meghalaya had only three major towns which includes Shillong the state capital. In the absence of any urban local bodies, the two towns and even the capital city has grown on its own without any plans for the future. Shillong and Jowai have become a classic case study of how a town or a city should not be run. It is a clear lesson of how to fail in urban management when there is no system in place to run these town and cities. As the state grows in shape and size, the urban issues will increase and it will add on to the existing problems if we do not have a proper system for urban management in place. Every successive government will create new districts and the headquarters of the new district will be upgraded to a town. Apart from that new townships have started coming up on their own in many nooks and corners of the state. The question therefore is in the absence of a cohesive system or ULB in the town/city, how will the government manage these developments?
Municipalities a threat
to tribal population
The main stumbling block to the function of the municipal board is the fear that the urban areas will be overwhelmed by non-local population. The anti municipal lobby used the only alternative that they have and that is to oppose the government plan to conduct elections to the different wards in these municipalities. This is why the function of the municipalities in the state is in an indeterminate state. And in the absence of a full Board, the municipality exists but with limited function only. With regards to the fear of municipal being a threat to the tribal population the classic case study is Jowai.
Even if Jowai is a municipal area, yet trade by non tribal in the town is controlled by the Jañtia Hills Autonomous District Council but has the Council really protected the interests of the tribals? In the last five year the town has seen the emergence of at least three mega-marts which sell everything from safety pins to what have you. One of the mandates of the Autonomous District Council is to protect the trade by tribal population. In order to so the District Council is expected to issue licenses only to those individuals or business entities that are engaged in businesses which the local population cannot undertake. The obvious question is – can’t the local people sell safety pins or groceries? In this case is the JHADC protecting the local traders by providing trading licenses to the mega markets in the town? Certainly these markets under one roof are not owned by local tribals of the state but companies which in turn affect the local businesses.
The JHADC has very clearly failed in its duty to protect the interests of the tribal population for which it is being mandated by the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. The pressure groups which are self-proclaimed protectors of the Jaidbynriew are missing the trees for the forests when they do not take the District Councils to task for this act which could have serious repercussions in the future.
The Alternative ULB
Things cannot go on like this forever as urban areas in the state have to be managed and governed in ways different from the way dorbar shnong is being run. If people are not comfortable with the municipal system then what is the alternative? It is therefore mandatory for the government to come up with an acceptable alternative because urban areas in the state have to be run by a different system altogether. The one alternative that exists is the town committees the system which Jowai town was before it was upgraded to municipality.
Town Committees
under the ADCs
If the municipal system is not acceptable then can we go back to the Town Committees which will be under the control of the different Autonomous District Councils in the state? Of course Town Committees are also ULBs but can the state avail different central government projects, urban missions and financial support under the TC system? Or maybe the state government will come up with new type of ULB which will address the urban issues which will also be within the ambit of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
The need of the hour for the State Government is to ensure that there is a functional ULB in every town and city of Meghalaya.
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