Protection of rights of tribals finds echo in Parliament
NEW DELHI: The ongoing controversies pertaining to jurisdiction of traditional heads, role of autonomous district councils and mining rights of tribal people in Meghalaya had their echoes in Parliament on Friday with Shillong MP Vincent H Pala moving a private member’s Bill on those issues in Lok Sabha.
Indirectly hitting out at the Meghalaya High Court, Pala called for “insulating” the tribals from the “mindless encroachment” by Anglo-Saxon judicial forums.
The High Court through in one of its recent judgments had curtailed the powers enjoyed by the traditional heads of the Hill State since decades.
Going back to the rights of the tribals over the mines and mining areas, Pala said that the same should be under the jurisdiction of the district councils since these are traditional occupations of the tribal people.
He also wanted the number of the ADCs to be increased as “originally envisioned by the Constitution makers”.
The Bill advocated that if the District Council resolves that the customary practices and laws are to be protected, the Governor should refer the matter to the concerned State Legislative Assembly.
Justifying his stand, Pala said that most of the provisions protecting the customary laws of the tribes under the Sixth Schedule have only remained on paper.
“Orders of various forums, which are squarely contrary to the Constitutional guarantees given to the Tribes under the said Schedule, are being thrust upon the tribals thereby mindlessly disintegrating the Constitutional scope and purpose of the Sixth Schedule,” Pala said in the Bill.
“It is, therefore, important that certain amendments as proposed in my Bill are to be immediately enacted so that the number of members in the District Councils are maintained as originally envisioned by the Constitution makers; so that the traditional occupations relating to mines and mining are brought under the legislative jurisdiction of the District Councils as well as inserting provisions for sufficiently insulating the tribals from the mindless encroachment by Anglo-Saxon judicial forums,” the Bill said.
The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2015 is to further amend the Sixth Schedule. As per rule the Bill will be put to ballot in the next session and if passed will be taken for consideration and subsequent process till it receives President’s assent either as his Bill or as Government’s own Bill.
