The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) is ready to help unemployed young tribals in business, Chief Executive Member Pyniaid Sing Syiem said yesterday.
He was replying to a motion by opposition leader Titosstarwell Chyne on the livelihood of the Khasi people on the last day of the budget session.
“We have written to Delhi for a skill development programme to assist our unemployed educated youth in farming, agriculture, handicrafts and many other sectors,” Syiem said.He lamented that, during a recent visit to Khanapara-Raid Marwet, he saw that there are only 19 Khasi households in the entire area while hundreds of shops and other businesses are being run by non-tribals. “Some of our youth criticise on social media instead of going to these places and running their businesses in the border areas,” Syiem said. “We from the council are ready to give our full support and also convince shop and landowners to give first preference to our people.”
The CEM also said that the KHADC will further regulate the issuance of trading licences for non-tribals.
Syiem is a member of the National People’s Party and the NPP is the major player in the state government. He criticised the previous Congress-led government for, in 2016, for issuing a notification that made it unnecessary for outside firms to acquire a trading licence when responding to a tender but only when they win a contract.
“We have to follow up on this issue and we have met the Chief Minister and Deputy CM to see that this notification is denotified as it just paves opportunities for bigger companies from outside and to snatch our livelihood,” Syiem said.
Speaking about other measures, he said that the council had, in September last year, requested the state government authorities not to issue tourist taxi permits to non-tribals who did not have trading licences from the KHADC.
