SHILLONG, June 27: The process of selecting the members of the expert committee to review the Meghalaya State Reservation Policy of 1972 is turning out to be an arduous task for the three-member search committee headed by Chief Secretary DP Wahlang since no political party save KHNAM has submitted suggestions and points for determining the members of the panel.
“We shall not rush (to start the process) as this is a very sensitive matter with legal consequences and we do not want to say anything incorrect,” government spokesperson Ampareen Lyngdoh said on Tuesday. “A search committee is on the job. We are yet to sit to be able to understand who would be called, what is the format of calling and what are the other logistics required for holding meetings with such a committee,” she said.
Stating that it is important to give the search committee its own time so that things are done correctly, she said: “First, we need to understand the queries on the Reservation Policy for understanding the minds of the questioners.”
The government can then look at the composition of the expert committee on the basis of the questions raised by the organisations and individuals, Lyngdoh said.
On some tribes of the state demanding 15% reservation, she said: “We already met at the level of the chief minister with the other indigenous scheduled tribe communities last week and we told their representatives to give their observations in writing.”
She pointed out that the committee of political parties headed by her is not a competent authority to understand and give comments on the matter. This would be the job of the expert committee whose members are being identified, she said.
All stakeholders would be given adequate opportunities to present their observations before the committee, she added.
Lyngdoh said a letter of suggestions has come only from the KHNAM but the government may not be able to use certain terms the party has put forward.
She said the panel on the reservation roster headed by her is undecided about holding the next meeting. “We are waiting for the other political parties to send in their observations,” she said, adding that there is no deadline.
She was non-committal when asked if the roster would be implemented prospectively or retrospectively.
