SHILLONG, March 6: Just weeks after the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) issued a notification mandating ST certificates for candidates seeking to contest the MDC elections, the council has now invoked its constitutional powers under the Sixth Schedule yet again by issuing a notification barring non-tribals from purchasing or claiming land in the five Garo Hills districts, officials said on Friday.
However, the status of land currently legally held by non-tribals would not be altered, officials said.
The council said the directive under the Sixth Schedule was issued with a singular aim to safeguard, preserve and protect the land, customary rights and traditional ownership of indigenous tribal communities in the region and to prevent alienation of such lands to non-tribal persons.
According to the notification issued on Thursday, no person belonging to a non-tribal community shall acquire, purchase, hold, possess, inherit, lease, mortgage, transfer or claim any right, title or interest over any land situated within the Garo Hills districts.
It further stated that any transfer, settlement, mutation, registration or recognition of land in favour of a non-tribal person will not be considered valid and will not be acted upon by any authority.
The council also prohibited benami transactions or arrangements in which land is held in the name of a tribal person for the benefit of a non-tribal individual, stating that such holdings would be treated as void and unenforceable.
Any right or possession obtained in violation of the notification will be liable to cancellation, resumption or restoration in accordance with the law, it added.
However, the council clarified that the order would not affect non-tribal persons who had lawfully inherited or acquired ancestral property prior to the coming into force of the applicable land transfer laws or regulations.
It also stated that any holding or transaction expressly sanctioned by the government or a competent authority under existing laws would remain valid, though such exempted holdings cannot be further transferred without prior approval of the competent authority.
The latest directive follows another notification issued by the council last month barring non-indigenous persons from contesting the elections to the GHADC scheduled on April 10.
The order was passed by the GHADC Executive Committee on February 9, 2026, and formally notified on February 17.
As per the notification, all candidates must submit an ST certificate issued by the Meghalaya government at the time of filing nomination papers.
The notification also directed the Returning Officers (ROs) and Assistant Returning Officers (AROs) to verify these certificates during scrutiny of the nomination papers.
Failure to produce a valid ST certificate will be treated as a “defect of substantial character,” leading to the rejection of the nomination, the notification added.
The GHADC argued that this move is intended to safeguard the customary laws, traditions, and socio-political identity of the indigenous tribal communities in the Garo Hills under the Sixth Schedule.
The move effectively bars non-tribal individuals from contesting seats in the council, a long-standing demand from various regional civil society organisations.
The notification has polarised political and social groups in Meghalaya, sparking a heated debate over constitutional rights and tribal autonomy.
While tribal leaders and organisations have strongly defended the mandate as a “course correction” to protect indigenous identity, non-tribal leaders have condemned the move, stating that only the central government has the authority to amend the Sixth Schedule.
