Union Home Minister Amit Shah has invited representatives of the ten Autonomous District Councils from the North East for a meeting tomorrow to discuss the 125th Amendment Bill to the Constitution related to the Sixth Schedule.
The ten autonomous councils and territorial councils comprise the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council, Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council, Garo Hills Autonomous District Council, Bodo Territorial Council, Tripura Territorial Council, Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council, Dima Hasao Autonomous Council, three ADCs of Mizoram namely Lai Autonomous District Council, Chakma Autonomous District Council and Mara Autonomous District Council.
Informing this today, Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) Chief Executive Member Pyniaid Sing Syiem said that CEMs of the ten Autonomous District Councils from the North East met in Delhi on July 20 to discuss on the 125th Amendment Bill and unanimously decided to meet the Union Home Minister to press for inclusion of their various points in the amendment bill.
Syiem also informed that the meeting of the chiefs of Autonomous District Councils has chosen him as a convener and also held threadbare discussion on the amendment bill.
“The meeting discussed the various problems faced by the ten Autonomous District Councils of the North East and the need to introduce laws and provisions to further protect the hill tribes of the North East states,” he said.
Syiem further said it is for the Central government to decide on tabling the 125th Amendment Bill in this parliament session.
“We want the bill to be tabled in the parliament and we further want to strengthen the provisions of the Sixth Schedule that have not seen any amendment in the last 70 years,” he said.
He also said that in tomorrow’s memorandum to the Home Minister, the KHADC has proposed a total of 37 seats for the council and for doing away with the proposal of giving representation to unrepresented tribes.
Syiem informed that the delegation from Meghalaya has proposed in the memorandum for removing the words ‘village council’ in areas under the jurisdiction of KHADC and JHADC and also to recognise the Hima and Dorbar Shnong as has been the practice from time immemorial.
He said that they also proposed that the district council election should not be conducted by the State Election Commission but should fall under the election rules of the District Councils and should be conducted by the District Council Affairs Department of the State government.
