SHILLONG:
The state government has recommended an increase in the strength of the three Autonomous District Councils’ (ADCs) on January 28.
According to the new proposal, decided during a cabinet discussion on the amendment to the Sixth Schedule, the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) and the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) will not have more than 40 members, while the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) will have 32 seats, the chief minister Conrad Sangma said, post the meet.
“In the KHADC and GHADC, out of the 40, four will be nominated and the rest will be elected through adult suffrage. Similarly, in the JHADC, not more than two will be nominated, and the rest will be elected through adult suffrage,” the chief minister said.
Currently, all the three ADCs have 30 members each.
The chief minister further informed that the cabinet has also recommended the elevation of traditional heads – rangbah shnong, sirdars and nokmas – as chairmen of the village councils. He added that the recommendations came post discussions with different stakeholders and the ADCs, and the government will soon send them to the Centre. Sangma also assured that he will personally take these proposals up with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on his next visit to New Delhi.
Sangma further said that the cabinet had also discussed the proposed inclusion of “unrepresented tribes” in the three ADCs with the Centre. “We have already discussed the issue with the government of India and the Ministry of Home Affairs, and that particular clause will not be there,” said Sangma, without divulging any details on the nature of the discussion.
Earlier, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs (PSCHA) had suggested that “unrepresented tribes” be nominated to the three ADCs of the state in a report on the Constitution (125th Amendment) Bill, 2019 and submitted it to the Parliament in 2020.
The state government, however, along with various political parties and different pressure groups had petitioned the committee to remove the words, “unrepresented tribes” saying that they should not be nominated to the ADCs.
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