SHILLONG, June 20: The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) has been taken to the High Court of Meghalaya for deciding to recall a corrigendum pertaining to the Khasi Hills Autonomous District (Appointment and Succession of Syiem, Deputy Syiem, Electors and Rangbah Shnong of Mylliem Syiemship) Act, 2007, published in the Gazette of Meghalaya Extraordinary on July 13, 2017.
The decision of the KHADC’s Executive Committee taken on December 30, 2017, was challenged because the petitioners felt an autonomous district council does not have the authority to recall a corrigendum published, although it may request the Governor to reconsider the matter.
It was, however, pointed out on behalf of a private respondent that the state government had recalled the corrigendum through a notification on February 9, 2018. This was published in the official gazette on February 13, 2018.
Since this was not incorporated in the petition, the petitioners were given leave to file a supplementary affidavit. “The supplementary affidavit be filed within a fortnight from date. The matter will appear three weeks hence. List on July 21, 2022,” the court’s order said.
Sonapur-Borkhat road
In another order, the court asked the state government to expedite the process of the construction of the Sonapur-Borkhat road.
The state government told the court that the work order for the construction of the road could not be issued despite its best efforts as the tender committee was looking into the possibility of the lowest bidder having relied on fabricated documents.
As for arranging a Bailey bridge temporarily, the state submitted that the support structure for the bridge could not be put in place because of the heavy rains. A brief respite from the rains may allow the bridge to be constructed, the court was told.
The court appreciated the difficulty faced due to the monsoon season but said, “It cannot be accepted that far-flung places would be without access and the rains would be an excuse for not being able to connect such places.”
Its order read: “Expeditious and effective decisions ought to be taken so that the suffering of the local people can be alleviated at the earliest.”
