Week’s deadline to govt on headmen issue

SHILLONG, MAY 4: Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) has demanded that the state government suspends all government programme where the headmen are required to give certificates even as the party has given a week’s deadline to the government to resolve the ‘present stalemate’ that arose out of Meghalaya high court ruling barring traditional heads to issue No Objection Certificate (NOC).

The HSPDP has also warned the state government of agitations if it fails to resolve the issue.

The decision to serve deadline to the state government was taken during a meeting between the HSPDP and traditional heads from across the state at the Khasi National Durbar Hall on Monday.

“We have unanimously decided to demand the state government to immediately resolve the current stalemate by taking necessary steps within a period of one week time,” HSPDP vice president Ardent M Basaiawmoit told reporters after the meeting.

Giving inkling into the resolutions to be submitted to the state government in the form of a memorandum tomorrow, Basaiawmoit said, “The government should suspend all activities and schemes that attract the role of the headmen till the present stalemate is resolved.”

He said such activities that require the role of the headmen and that needs to be suspended are issuing of birth certificate, schedule tribe certificate, opening of bank accounts and others.

He further said, “Issuing of certificates should be suspended till the time that the powers and functions of the traditional heads in the state is recognized by rule or law.”

He said the meeting also decided to pressurize the state government to speed up in approving the KHADC (Village Administration) Bill, 2014 passed by the KHADC, and demanded replication of the bill while framing the state law on the powers of traditional heads.

HSPDP has also called for a public rally in Shillong on May 6 to protest against the state government’s failure to address the issue.

He informed, “We will be holding a public rally at Student’s Field on May 6 and hundreds of traditional durbars from rural and urban areas of the state are going to participate in the rally.”

He informed that some of the dorbar shnong have even decided to have a shutdown in their respective villages during the hours of the public rally.- By Our Reporter