SHILLONG, MAR 5: Traditional chiefs on Saturday served a two-month deadline to the state government for immediate passing of the Village Administration Bill (VAB) for empowering them and denotifying the recent amended service rules.
They have also offered to be ‘mediator’ between the state government and the district council to speed up the process of attending to the 12-point queries raised by the Ministry of Home Affairs with regards to the VAB, passed by the KHADC.
The decision was taken at the general body meeting of the Synjuk Ki Nongsynshar Shnong Ka Bri U Hynniewtrep (SNSBH), a conglomeration of headmen from Khasi and Jaintia Hills region, held in the city on Saturday.
“We demanded the state government to complete the passage of the VAB within a period of two months,” SNSBH president Dr Werlock Kharshiing told reporters after the meeting.
He also threatened, “The Synjuk will be compelled to launch intensive agitations and mass movement if the government fails to comply with the demand within the deadline put forth by us.”
According to him, it is observed that the government has been intentionally delaying the passing of the bill by not showing any kind of seriousness on its part.
Earlier on February 10, the state government in its meeting convened with the delegation of the Synjuk had informed that it has received the 12-point queries raised by the MHA on the VAB.
“We are still in consultation with legal experts including those from the Supreme Court for their views on the matter,” Kharshiing said.
Stating that the Synjuk is also offering itself to act as a ‘mediator’, SNSBH general secretary RL Blah said, “We can act as mediator as bridge between the state government and the KHADC in order to speed up the process of replying to the queries raised by the MHA on the bill.”
“We have made our stand clear to the Chief Minister in our last meeting (Feb 10) on the need to include the Synjuk as a stakeholder in view of the fallout that is visible between the state and the district council,” Blah said.
He also said that the Synjuk has also demanded the government to file special appeal with the Supreme Court like the KHADC did on the recent High Court order, which directed government to frame uniform rules for headmen.
Meanwhile, the meeting has also resolved to outrightly reject the decision to direct the government servants to furnish information about their holding office in traditional bodies, through the amended Meghalaya Services (Conduct) Rules.
“We demand the government to denotify the notification issued on this regard,” Kharshiing said.
Earlier, the delegation of Synjuk had staged a walk-out in protest against the government’s failure to withdraw the notification on the service rules during the meeting held last month.
When asked, the Synjuk president said, “We would definitely find out ways and means to pressurize the state government till it is ready and willing to denotify the amended service rules on government servants holding post of headmen.”
On the alleged encroachment by the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA), Blah recalled that the government had adopted a resolution during its meeting held with the Synjuk on November last year, to keep in abeyance the operation of the MUDA building byelaws in schedule areas. However, the Meghalaya High Court in its order had directed the government to continue the operation of the building byelaws.
“We were assured by the state government that it would filed a petition on this regard with the High Court since the order is not a final verdict,” he said.-By Our Reporter
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