SHILLONG, Feb 7: Cabinet Minister and UDP leader Paul Lyngdoh has asserted that the expansion of Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) to cover the entire state has already been fully implemented.
“If you take my constituency, for instance, the entire West Shillong Jaiaw constituency falls under a municipal area, yet it is also a scheduled area,” he said. “So, you have trade licenses issued by the councils as well as elected MDCs. That idea has already been implemented, and I don’t see any new argument there,” Lyngdoh added, emphasising that every part of the state is already under ADC jurisdiction.
His remarks come amid ongoing debates over the governance of tribal areas. While some critics have questioned the role of municipal areas in regions with significant tribal populations, Lyngdoh maintained that the existing framework — integrating municipal and scheduled areas — has been effective.
On Monday, KHADC chief Pyniaid Sing Syiem highlighted that the NPP-led executive committee had proposed an amendment to the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
“As of now, municipal areas still exist in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills region.
Therefore, we have insisted that there should be no more municipal areas and that all such regions should be brought under the Sixth Schedule,” Syiem said.
The proposal aims to streamline governance and ensure that tribal areas receive uniform administrative attention, eliminating the dual structure of municipal and ADC oversight.
The contrasting viewpoints of Lyngdoh and Syiem highlight a broader debate on administrative boundaries and tribal governance. While Lyngdoh argues that the ADC model has already been effectively expanded across the state, Syiem’s push for the complete absorption of municipal areas into the Sixth Schedule suggests that some leaders still see the need for further reforms.
