SHILLONG: The State human rights panel is all but ready with only the letter of approval pending with the Governor.
Though the State government had constituted the Meghalaya State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) on June 7, the requirement was that the appointment of the chairperson and members should be through a warrant signed by the Governor and not through the notification by the State government.
The State government on June 7 notified the formation of the first MSHRC with Justice (retd.) Aftab H. Saikia as Chairman and former Meghalaya DGP P.J.P. Hanaman as member.
An official with the Law department said even before the deadline of June 30 set by the Supreme Court to form the human rights commission, the issue of notification to be signed by the Governor was taken up.
“We had already sent the files related to the matter to the Governor for his approval,” the official said.
It was on August 13, 2013 that the State cabinet had given its nod to the formation of the commission.
Later in March, 2014, the Assembly passed the Meghalaya Human Rights Commission (Salaries and Allowances and other Terms and Conditions of Service of the Members) Rules, 2014.
The formation of the human right panel assumes significance in the context of many pressure group and individuals now directly approaching the National Human Rights Commission to get their grievances addressed.
