By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 23: The contentious subject of labour licence issued to non-tribals has put the state government in the direct firing line of the KHADC which the latter accusing the former of blatantly issuing licences to non-tribal workers from outside even before their entry into the state.
KHADC CEM Winston Tony Lyngdoh on Thursday made the disclosure, while terming the state government’s act a serious lapse.
Responding to a motion moved by Mawshynrut MDC Srally Rashir during the Council’s Winter Session, the CEM said, “A [non-tribal] migrant worker can easily obtain a labour license from the state government even though he has not yet started working in the state.”
Calling the issue a matter of serious concern, Lyngdoh said the KHADC has decided to enforce checks under its jurisdiction to regulate such cases. He clarified that while the Council has the authority to evict illegal migrant workers, it does not have the power to push them back or deport them.
“Our power is to evict labourers from any site if they do not possess proper documents. The implementation of the Non-Tribal Employee Clearance Certificate (NTECC) is ongoing, and we have outsourced the process to identify non-tribal employees for certification,” he explained.
The CEM informed that the issuance of NTECC is guided by the United Khasi-Jaintia Trading by Non-Tribal Regulation, 1954, and was implemented by the Council in 2020 following a resolution passed by the then Executive Committee on June 4, 2020.
He said the decision was taken after observing a rising influx of non-tribal labourers into the region.
Under the system, Lyngdoh informed that the Council issues temporary slips valid for 15 days, allowing workers time to submit necessary documents such as EPIC, Aadhaar, residential certificate from the CEM, and bank passbook, among others.
He further pointed out that although the Meghalaya Migration Act has curtailed the KHADC’s authority to issue labour licenses, there remains an overlap and conflict between the provisions of the state Act and the Council’s constitutional powers.
“We understand there is a clash with the Act, but since these non-tribal workers operate within Sixth Schedule areas, the Council retains the power to regulate them under its provisions,” he asserted.
