SHILLONG, July 4: A major constitutional standoff is brewing in the Khasi Hills as clan elders accuse the KHADC of using “digital modernisation” as a Trojan horse to strip traditional Dorbars of their ancestral authority over community land.
The Synjuk Ki Rangbah Kur Ka Bri U Hynniewtrep, meeting at Mawkyrwat on Saturday, warned that the Khasi Hills Autonomous District (Regulation and Administration of Land) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, threatens the very foundation of the Sixth Schedule and the Khasi matrilineal system.
To formalise a resistance against the legislation, the federation resolved to convene a mass convention of clan elders (Rangbah Kur) and heads of traditional institutions (Nongsynshar Shnong) in Shillong on July 7.
The primary point of contention is the Council’s decision to delete Section 16 of the principal Act. This clause previously mandated that the Executive Committee (EC) consult the concerned Dorbar Shnong, Dorbar Raid, and Dorbar Hima before implementing land ceiling measures. By removing this requirement, elders argue the KHADC is bypassing the indigenous institutions that have regulated land ownership for generations.
The federation maintained that while land ceiling regulations and digitisation are necessary, they must not be used to erode the customary autonomy of the Dorbars. They described the matrilineal clan structure as the cornerstone of Khasi identity, warning that any weakening of traditional governance would lead to the eventual alienation of community lands.
The assembly declared that any administrative intervention perceived to dilute protections guaranteed under the Sixth Schedule would be “firmly opposed.”
The controversy stems from the Bill passed during the KHADC Summer Session last month. Leader of the Opposition Titosstarwell Chyne had spearheaded the objection, arguing that the original Act was designed to codify and strengthen the authority of the Rangbah Shnong, Syiem, and Sordar. Chyne questioned why the mandatory consultation clause was scrapped, insisting that local consent remain a legal prerequisite.
Defending the amendments, KHADC Executive Member in-charge of Land, Powell Sohkhlet, cited administrative stagnation. He claimed that years of consultations with Himas and villages had failed to produce results while Raid lands continued to diminish.
The amended Bill introduces digital land records, QR-code authentication, and the creation of a “Land Recording Officer” to oversee the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP). However, traditionalists fear this new bureaucratic layer is intended to replace the decision-making power of the village heads with centralised Council control.
