The enforcement team of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) carried out surprise checks of non-tribal shopkeepers to see if they hold the requisite trading licenses in Nongpoh today.
Being the district headquarters, situated relatively near Assam and on an important national highway, Nongpoh serves as the primary hub in the region and numerous business establishments have been set up here, with a significant number of non-tribal individuals owning or running commercial activities.
Under the leadership of Inspector V Bamon, the KHADC enforcement team initiated inspections in the town today. The team discovered that several non-tribal-owned shops had not obtained the necessary trading licences to operate their establishments. As a result, show-cause notices were issued to the owners of these businesses.
During the KHADC’s inspections, it was observed that a few business establishments had downed their shutters before the inspectors got there, possibly to evade detection by the enforcement personnel. Additionally, the KHADC claimed that several non-tribal businesses falsely attributed the names of tribals as the owners.
Meanwhile, the Khasi Students Union (KSU) expressed disappointment that it had not been informed beforehand about the KHADC’s checking.
The leader of the Nongpoh circle of the pressure group, John Lyngdoh, said that the KSU had written to the KHADC on July 5 about the need to check trading licences and also met Chief Executive Member Pyniaid Sing Syiem on the issue.
As a result, the Licensing Officer of the KHADC issued an order the following day to instruct the Enforcement Wing to conduct checks on non-tribal traders in Nongpoh.
However, the KSU was disappointed that it was not invited to take part in the inspection today. Lyngdoh said that non-tribal shops have “mushroomed” in Nongpoh recently but that it did not want to take the law into its own hands.
The KSU also alleged that many non-tribal-owned shops do not have no objection certificates (NOCs) from headmen. Lyngdoh said the pressure group will conduct its own inspections in the coming days after being “disrespected” by the KHADC.
