The three autonomous district councils (ADCs) of Meghalaya held a joint meeting today where they unanimously decided to oppose the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the Sixth Schedule areas.
Speaking to reporters today, Chief Executive Member of the KHADC, Titosstarwell Chyne, said the meeting was attended by him and his counterparts in the GHADC and JHADC where all three strongly opposed the intention of the central government to introduce a UCC.
Informing that a resolution in this regard will be passed in each of the three district councils soon, he said, “We feel that the UCC will directly have an impact on the powers and functions of the autonomous district councils and the unique customs and traditional practices, etc, of the communities.”
Meanwhile, Chyne said that the KHADC would also like to see the JHADC and GHADC pass their own Village Development Council Bills as the KHADC has done to forestall the implementation in Meghalaya of the village councils (panchayati raj) that are seen in the rest of the country.
JHADC CEM Thombor Shiwat said that his council had already passed an Appointment and Succession of Chiefs and Headmen Act 2015 but this may not be acceptable to the central government, so the JHADC will also pass its own Village Development Council Bill.
He stressed that the meeting today totally opposed the idea of the panchayati raj as well as the central government’s push for the inclusion of unrepresented tribes in the district councils.
On the number of seats in the councils, Chyne maintained that they all stand by what has been agreed from before that the seats should not exceed 40. This is in order to keep costs down as the councils are already under financial strain.
He said that the ADCs have also opposed the implementation of the SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) Scheme since the land tenure system in Meghalaya is completely different from the rest of the country.
On financial matters, he said that the minor major minerals and motor vehicles tax shares that the councils get from the state government has always been a lump sum and based on an actual calculation and the council would like to know their actual shares.
“We would also urge the state government for additional funds and financial assistance for the ADCs,” he said.
On the delay of financial assistance to the ADCs, Chyne said that the state government should release funds on time because when delayed, this results in a knock-on delay in the implementation of the scheme and the councils then face pressure from the Centre and Comptroller and Auditor General for failing to submit utilisation certificates.
Chyne also called for the power to issue Scheduled Tribe certificates to be returned to the councils, as it had been in the past. Currently, the state government decides on applications for ST certificates, though the KHADC had recently issued instructions to its headmen over the issuance of ‘Khasi tribe certificates’.
