Staff Reporter

Shillong, Dec 1: Social Welfare Minister Paul Lyngdoh today termed the notification issued by the department that a non-Khasi wife is allowed to obtain a Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate as strange.

Speaking to reporters, Lyngdoh said, “I have called for the relevant file and I will go through the details accordingly.”

“It is strange such a notification has been issued because in the process of legislation once a bill has been passed by the Council and has got the assent of the Governor, it means that it has gone through the process of being scrutinized by the State government,” he said.

“And no notification should ever be in a position to dilute any piece of legislation, especially an Act that has got the assent of the Governor," he said.

Recently, the Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) has demanded the government to immediately withdraw a letter issued by an officer of the social welfare department for misinterpreting the KHAD (Khasi Social Custom of Lineage) Act, 1997.