By Patricia Mukhim
There is virtue in tradition provided that tradition does not entrap us but evolves with the needs of the times and encompasses the elements that define our modern existential crisis, namely roads, electricity, power, water supply, sanitation besides other needs that make life easier without having to rue over one or the other essential part of living not being within our reach. Traditional institutions if reduced to only an honorary behemoth with no resources at their disposal and also no clear terms of reference as to what areas of governance those institutions are tasked with, become mere institutions dealing with petty issues between residents in a respective locality particularly relating to the purchase and sale of land and sometimes implementing the MLA scheme.
But traditional institutions today are meant to address civic governance which means not just collection of garbage from localities but also keeping those localities and the drains alongside the roads clean. As of today, only areas falling within the municipalities are being swept and the garbage collected to be dumped at the one and only Marten. A duly elected urban local body for the entire Shillong which should include the peri-urban areas such as New Shillong Township, Laitkor, Upper Shillong etc is urgently needed. Why should only a 10 km radius of the city receive the benefits of a Municipality while the rest of the city is left to lick its wounds? As a result, inhabitants of areas beyond the Shillong Municipality are the ones that dump their garbage in rivers when they miss the garbage collection trucks. Sadly, those entrusted with managing the Shillong Municipal Board hardly visit the rivers to see for themselves the mound of garbage dumped into these water bodies day after day.
There is a problem and that problem has to be addressed. Because of space constraints this article will focus on one river or tributary of the river Umkhrah, namely the Umkaliar river. The areas falling within the ambit of the River Umkaliar, namely Lapalang, Nongrah, Umpling, Nongmynsong and Nongrim Hills have to be held to account. The Dorbar Shnong of these areas have obviously failed to address the issue of garbage management and have turned a blind eye to the conundrum. One excuse they all have is that the garbage that flows into their jurisdiction is from the next shnong run by another Dorbar Shnong. This was flagged in repeated meetings but nothing has been done on the ground to address the issue. One thing that the Government has done is to construct fences along the river bank but a fence that demarcates one shnong from the other remains a project in suspension.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma is keen that the Umkhrah Riverfront should be spruced up to resemble a promenade in some of the first world cities like London or Paris where rivers flow across the city centre. But the problem with a third world country like ours is that aspirations don’t match up with peoples’ behaviours. They may look civilised judging by the way they dress and behave in stylish environs but their habits away from the public eye remain ugly as ever. If an audit of the waste collected from the river is to be done it would include – clothes (pants, jackets etc), plastics with vegetable discards from kitchens, sanitary pads, Huggies, hundreds of liquor bottles and shampoo sachets, amongst other discards. Obviously the localities (shnongs) along which the Umkaliar flows are responsible for this but until some form of netting to separate one shnong from another is erected the blame game will continue. And our water bodies will continue to be a substitute for Marten. The idea of setting up nettings is to hold the individual shnong responsible for the garbage thrown by their residents.
One of the inherent routes of corruption is to allow the Dorbar Shnong to look the other way when a house is built right on the riverfront. The Meghalaya High Court had come down heavily on constructions by the River Umiam. This has resulted in several buildings constructed by the District Councils ostensibly as some sort of meeting hall dotted with resorts all around to be abandoned and now overgrown with weeds. The Khasi Hills District Council had invested about Rs 7 crore on those now abandoned buildings because they did not have a plan on how to get rid of their sewerage. Now if the Meghalaya High Court is strict about buildings having to be built at least 50 metres away from the high-water mark of a water body, as per an order of the bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice W. Diengdoh how is it that buildings in Nongmynsong are built on the river (one of them a church) and the discharge from the kitchen and toilet passes directly into the river Umkaliar?
One of the much proclaimed advantages of a traditional governance body is its ability to touch base with real issues on the ground and its ability to function without the bureaucratic red tape. Decisions are usually taken by consensus and there is a sense of collective responsibility and accountability. Very often decisions are taken based on customary laws and practices. But is that the case today? There are some Dorbar Shnong which grant no objection certificates (NOCs) for various trades and activities based on how much the headman and secretary are paid. Look at the number of liquor shops from 4th Furlong to Demseiniong-Nongmynsong. Such dorbar shnong don’t really care about the welfare of the residents. They are too busy making money. But who can hold them accountable? We are yet to hear of a single Dorbar Shnong being censured by the District Councils. In short, they act as independent actors accountable to no one. Is this what we want in a situation where modern governance which is able to deliver the basic requirements of residents based on social justice and equity is the need of the hour?
It is time to start discussions on reforms measures that are needed to bring about transparency and accountability in the Dorbar Shnong. For too long the issue of election to the Shillong Municipal Board has been kept pending on the fear that there could be a law and order problem if elections are held. For how long can people be held to ransom just because the state is unable to assure the rule of law for the conduct of a democratic election to a civic governance body? Modern governance frameworks like the Panchayati Raj Institution (you can give it a tribal name if you wish to) focus on transparency, participation, and data-driven decision making, promoting citizen engagement and is open to criticism. They are also brought under the Right to Information (RTI) Act and are accountable to the public. They cannot function in opacity.
Modern governance frameworks like the PRI have evolved significantly to address the complexities of today’s societies. For too long traditional governance has hinged on hierarchical structures, where decision-making is concentrated among a few leaders. Generally, such leaders are untouchable and people have very little say in governance matters. Besides, the same leaders continue to hold office because no one wants to take additional responsibility for an unpaid job.
Another key distinction lies in the approach to policy-making. In traditional bodies there is hardly any policy planning. Things are handled on a case by case basis. This can frustrate communities that face urgent issues but since this has been the tradition it is accepted. Modern governance on the contrary can make policies based on real-time feedback from residents. This allows it to adapt to the needs and challenges of the residents much more effectively. Meghalaya’s problem is that the district councils don’t want to release their hold over the Dorbar Shnong, despite the fact that the transition to the PRI would enable direct funding for the larger good of the community. This strangle-hold has to break because local governance that works on a transparent and participatory model is the need today!
