SHILLONG: Governor Ganga Prasad has returned the Khasi Hills Autonomous District (Khasi Social Custom of Lineage) (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018 to the District Council Affairs Department for further examination.
An official source said on Friday that the bill was returned for detailed examination by the government before the governor gives his assent.
The governor, however, did not mention anything in the file other than the need to examine the bill.
There are varied views on the amended bill passed by the KHADC on July 25 and the government will consult legal experts before sending the bill to the governor for his assent, the official added.
A major contradiction in the bill is that while Section 3 (d) mentions about a Khasi woman and her children losing Khasi status and privileges after the woman’s marriage with a non-Khasi, Section 3(b) highlights that the offspring of a Khasi mother and a non-Khasi father through legal marriage are recognised as Khasis if they can speak Khasi, unless prevented from knowing the language by circumstances beyond their control.
The chief executive member of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council, HS Shylla, said recently that there is a need to consult legal experts of the KHADC to analyse various clauses of the bill.
