Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma pointed out no one can legally check the documents of the labourers and 10 cases have been filed in this regard against individuals and pressure groups, while the KSU vowed to continue with their drive
SHILLONG, July 19: The much-anticipated talks between the leaders of the Khasi Students’ Union and Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on the checking of labourers and “illegal immigrants” failed on Friday. While Sangma pointed out no one can legally check the documents of the labourers and 10 cases have been filed in this regard against individuals and pressure groups, the KSU vowed to continue with their drive.
During the meeting, the CM clarified that there is no provision in the law for a work permit.
“The NGOs presumably referred to a notification and it was later clarified that work permit refers to the application of the Interstate Migrant Workers Act,” he said.
Sangma said the government also clarified that the notification came with a corrigendum that ‘work permit’ should be read as the implementation of the Act, which has provisions for the registration of more than five labourers employed by contractors.
He said the KSU raised concerns about the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act and the inner line permit (ILP), for which action can be taken following formal complaints.
He added that the matter of increasing the penalty of Rs 5,000 imposed on contractors who fail to register the labourers could be examined.
Reiterating that nobody has the right to check the documents of labourers, Sangma said 10 cases have been filed against the pressure groups and some individuals and that the authorities in Sohra took stringent action in a similar case.
“If anyone breaks the law then the law will take its own course,” he said.
The chief minister also clarified that the original MRSSA of 2016 is being implemented and committees have been formed for the registration of people under this Act.
“We raised the implementation of the ILP with the Union Home Minister and were told the Centre is still examining the issue,” he said.
The Centre is reportedly against ILP for Meghalaya as it would infringe upon Article 19 of the Constitution. The state government has told the Minister of Home Affairs that introducing ILP will not go against Article 19.
He said states such as Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur did not have the protection of the Sixth Schedule and were thus given the ILP to create a system for protecting their indigenous communities.
The KSU underlined several loopholes in the Interstate Migrant Workers Act of 2020 such as no provision of police verification of the labourers.
The union’s general secretary, Donald V Thabah said they have asked the government to include this provision in the Act.
The KSU was also unhappy with the “meagre amount” a contractor has to pay as a penalty for not registering the labourers employed by him/her. There should be a provision for imprisonment, it said.
“Tired of hearing the word ‘examination’, we will continue to be vigilant to check the entry of people inside our state,” Thabah said.
He sought to know how the Sixth Schedule alone could protect the indigenous communities of Meghalaya when they had been overtaken by the non-tribals in areas such as Laban and Pynthorumkhrah.
“Our fight for ILP will continue and we will resort to any form of protest to pressure the central and state governments,” he said, adding that the union favours the implementation of the MRSSA or its amended version.
Thabah also said the KSU will not demand the release of its jailed members or request the police to stop issuing summons. “Our focus is on our objective – ILP or MRSSA,” he said.