The state cabinet today approved the extension of the current terms of the Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Councils (KHADC and JHADC) for another six months due to the delimitation exercise.
The terms of these two councils were set to expire on March 4. The councils had both appealed for extensions as part of the process of redrawing the constituency boundaries.
The Meghalaya Governor last year had granted both councils permission to constitute delimitation committees and their work is ongoing.
“Recently, both the councils had sent the proposal to the state government for extension,” Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong informed reporters after cabinet. “It was examined by the Department of District Council Affairs (DCA) and the state government, the cabinet approved it today. Now the government will send a recommendation to the Governor for approval.”
Other points on the agenda were also taken up by the cabinet, which approved normal service rules brought in by the Forest Department, called the Meghalaya Forest Subordinate Technical Service Rules 2024. The department did not have service rules before.
The cabinet also passed an amendment of the Meghalaya Telecom Infrastructure Policy (MTIP). This policy was in place since 2018 and it was instituted in line with a policy issued by the central government. However, the Centre has made changes since then, necessitating amendments at the state level to bring it in line with that of the Indian government.