SHILLONG, NOV 22: The ministerial committee facilitating public consultations on the draft ‘Meghalaya Regulation of Landlord and Verification of Tenants Bill-2013’ is likely to suggest to the state government on the need to re-draft the bill so that it will be an effective mechanism to check unabated inflow of influx into the state.
The committee would also explore the possibility of calling-off the ongoing public consultations till a fresh bill is draft.
The recently conducted public consultations by the committee headed by Minister Prestone Tynsong had witnessed oppositions to introduce the tenants bill from the students’ community of the state even as they tore the copies of the draft bill into pieces.
The students attending the meeting had opposed the draft Meghalaya Regulation of Landlords and Verification of Tenants Bill 2013 citing that nowhere in the draft the issue of tackling illegal influx is mentioned.
“After the recent public consultation, the chairman of the committee has informed that the committee would sit before it decides to hold further consultations on the bill,” one of the members of the committee Justine Dkhar ,who is also the parliamentary secretary in the Congress led MUA II coalition government said.
Hinting that the committee might not proceed with any further consultations, Dkhar said, “The Committee has seen the flaws of the Bill and it can take decision to temporarily call-off the public consultation and recommend to the state government to explore the possibility of re-drafting the bill to suit the interest of the indigenous tribe.”
Dkhar also said that he too felt that the bill has some flaws in it. The bill if implemented will dilute the powers of the traditional institutions and how will it categorize our own people from the outsiders. He said he doesn’t feel that it is right for a citizen of the state who wants to rent a house in any part of the state to apply for an affidavit.
Dkhar said, “I too am yet to know how far the bill will be effective in tackling the illegal entry of outsiders into the state.” – By Our Reporter
after the re-draft, let the students come again to scrutinise the bill.