Relocation of CRPF camp underway

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Sept 21: The process of relocation of the CRPF camp from Mawlai has been initiated.

This was informed by the deputy chief minister in-charge home (police) Prestone Tynsong in a reply to a starred question tabled in the Assembly on Thursday.

He said the government has allocated 10 acres of land for the establishment of a battalion camping site of CRPF at Umsawli, New Shillong Township and the process of handing/taking over of the land and lease agreement is under process.

AIM against gambling in melas

The Awakening Indian Movement (AIM) has sought the intervention of the deputy commissioner of East Khasi Hills district to ensure a blanket ban on gambling at melas being organized by different agencies.

Speaking to media persons, chairman of AIM Bansharai Marbaniang said that many people from other part of the country come to Meghalaya to host various kinds of melas, however these melas have games that encourage gambling with money which is detrimental and have a negative impact on the welfare of the people.

Marbaniang alleged that melas throughout the country are being held in order to provide entertainment to all citizens where they can experience happiness especially for children, students, and youth but at present melas in Meghalaya are being held with gambling which have detrimental and a negative impact on the welfare of the people.

“During our visit to the mela held at the Parking Lot outside Polo Ground in Shillong, the mela hosted various gambling activities with money and young people and students in uniform participated in various gambling games” said Marbaniang.

Marbaniang said that AIM is not against organizing melas in the state, however it stands against the act of gambling that is being held at the venues hence the AIM sought the intervention into this matter.

Roster system: Ampareen assures justice to every community

Spokesperson of Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government Ampareen Lyngdoh has assured that the government will come up with the best solution to ensure there is no ‘injustice’ done to any community while implementing the roster system in the state.

“We will come out with the best solution and we will ensure that solution is manifested in credible information,” Lyngdoh told reporters today.

“I appeal to the people of Meghalaya and political parties across the board to kindly allow us to collect data, to ensure data collected is credible and to ensure that in applying this roster there shall be no injustice done to any one community. We are Meghalayans and we must understand that the government is for the people of Meghalaya,” she added.

Also referring to the ongoing debates on the issue, the cabinet minister said, “I appeal to political parties to be confident that the government is taking all advisories, suggestions, being debated and we will evaluate those suggestions and we will incorporate and come out with a roster which is going to be acceptable, which is going to be justified and which is going to have credible source of data.”

Stating it is a very difficult situation, she said, “We are trying our best now to ensure that while debating and discussing this matter, we should not be seen as taking anyone’s side, we will try our best to present to the people the best solution.”

On the other hand, Lyngdoh also asserted the need for citizens of the state to ensure that a practice that was propagated since the inception of the state with its positives and negatives should not be discussed beyond logical debate while citing that reservation policy is a very unique application.

According to her, the government is also aware that the roster does in all likelihood create some sort of a sense of insecurity amongst communities that are enjoying this reservation in the state of Meghalaya.

Urging the people of the state not to underestimate the capacity of the government to evaluate what practice will benefit the state in the long run, the spokesperson said, “We have been actively engaging on understanding the roster as it was and how best can we take that forward protecting the interest of all communities who will gradually and definitely be affected by it.”

“I want to give an assurance to the people of the state that the government is engaging actively. We have been advised by various court orders to ensure that we have a systematic application of the reservation policy that will seem like a policy that is sensitive to citizens across the board. We will try our best to understand this system and to ensure that while applying it we should not seem as a government that is unjustly applying a system,” she said while adding “This order of the High Court is going to have positive application in the future. We must as a state adhere to justice for all. We must provide a fair playing ground for all communities and we will try our best to ensure that in its future application we apply the system in the best and most justified manner. We are procuring all datas from all line departments to understand how the roster has been applied in the state thus far and we will adhere to advisories that are going to be productive in the long run for the state and the citizens of Meghalaya.”

On the demand of the Voice of the People Party (VPP) to review the state reservation policy, Lyngdoh said, “Again, I want to reiterate that toying with discussion and debate about the roster on public domain coming out with statements which can seem as bias is the incorrect practice forward.”

“It is not fair to give suggestions that may not be workable or doable. So we will not talk about any one political party but we appeal to all political parties that this is a very sensitive issue, we do not want to see it go out of hand,” she said while requesting all civil societies and NGO members to have faith in the government which will come out with the best solution.

State Reservation Policy: Blunder of 50 yrs cannot be solved in days

United Democratic Party leader and cabinet minister Paul Lyngdoh today said a solution to a blunder committed in regard to the state reservation policy for the past 50 years cannot come in a matter of five days.

“It is also a fact that a blunder was committed 50 years ago so how do you resolve that? It is more difficult because it is an issue that has been festering for half a century so a solution will not come in five days. A blunder that has been perpetuated for 50 years cannot be resolved in five days in five weeks or even five months but let it be resolved bit by bit,” Lyngdoh told reporters.

The West Shillong legislator said, “Why are you saying that it is not a blunder. There are a lot of errors in the entire policy. For instance, giving space of two-three years for a post to be filled up means you are undermining, and compromising the quality of the administration. Now if an office has to have 12 staff members and because you have to wait for two years it means that the office is running short of staff for 2-3 years – that itself is a blunder.”

Admitting the danger if the reservation policy is being challenged, he said, “It is (dangerous) as there are a lot of intricacies involved,” while cautioning everyone that “we should not end up shooting ourselves in our leg, let us not inflict self-wounds.”

On the implementation of the roster system, Lyngdoh, who is also a spokesperson of the MDA government, informed that the MDA is going to meet at the end of this week or early next week to discuss this matter.

“The matter is also coming up before the cabinet and an All-party meet is also being called. So at these different platforms, we will get an exchange of views and I am sure the best of views will come forward,” he asserted.

Referring to the concerns expressed if the roster system is implemented retrospectively, Lyngdoh said, “That is a very valid concern so accordingly I will put my views across in the Cabinet that if at all  it has to be done it can be done only prospectively one, two you can take the matter up to the Supreme Court, three, the State Assembly has the option of legislation – so which of these options or which combination of these options will work best that is entirely up to the House and the Cabinet to decide.”

“Therefore, let it come up before the cabinet. Let a cabinet memo be prepared. I will study the memo and articulate my point of view in the cabinet but first let the cabinet memo be put up,” he stated.

On the other hand, Lyngdoh reminded that the UDP had in fact listed as number one on its manifesto a change of the reservation policy and said, “We fielded 46 candidates and only 11 of us won. Even if you only think of the Khasi-Jaintia sector, we won 11 out of 36, minus the 10 we fielded in the Garo Hills, so it means that the majority of the constituencies are not interested in any change of the reservation policy.”

He said it also means that 25 constituencies did not favour a change of the reservation policy adding “Even if you combine UDP 11 plus VPP 4 that will still make it 15 and 15 out of 36 is still not a majority.”

Fight for Achiks must not be termed as ‘Greedy’

The Achik Conscious Holistically Integrated Krima (ACHIK) has said that fighting for the rights of the Achiks cannot be termed as “greedy”.

“The person who made the statement of terming the Achik nation and ACHIK greedy probably has not read the dictionary and the meaning of equity and justice,” public relation secretary of the ACHIK Hamrash N Marak said in a statement.

He said the subjective approach to any problem or issue would narrow the vision and the objective of any person and the organisation therefore pledges to study the Meghalaya Job Reservation Policy and the Roster System verdict of the Court.

The verdict of the roster system by the High Court was given because the HC found discrepancies in the implementation of JRP in the state.

Stating that the ACHIK demands for what is right and the rights of our community and nothing more, Marak said, “It is the duty of the government to repay for the injustice done to A•chiks for more than 50 years,” adding “It must be understood that no community can be suppressed, marginalised and deprived of their rights for years and cannot expect the community to fight back, and A•chik community is no less than any.”

He said that the ACHIK as a society has been organising and reaching out to the A•chik people in Garo Hills and the movement has just started which is getting larger every day and till the realisation of Second Capital in Tura and maintenance of equity and justice for A•chik people in case of Roster issue, the voices and echoes in the hills of Garo Hills shall not cease.

HYC warns govt of MBoSE like situation

The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) today warned the state government of an MBoSE-like situation if it fails to address the issue concerning the implementation of the roster system.

“We want to remind the state government that if it fails to address this issue, I am afraid the MBoSE-like situation might happen in the state of Meghalaya. Therefore, we request the government to immediately solve this problem either through the Cabinet or State Assembly or an All-party meeting, we don’t care but what we care is that this issue should be solved once and for all,” HYC president Robertjune Kharjahrin told reporters after submitting a memorandum to the Chief Secretary DP Wahlang here for demanding that the roster should be implemented prospectively from 2022 onwards.

“The Chief Secretary has informed us that they will place this matter before the Cabinet and we hope that the cabinet will consider our point of view because we have seen that in social media and even in the streets there is a huge misunderstanding now between the Khasi Jaintia and Garo community,” he said while adding “We don’t want to see that will remain we want to see that the government should step in now and solve this problem because the very purpose of having a government is to solve the problems not to leave problems like this without solving them.”

“Now, if you see the statement, the minister will blame the Court and the Court says it is up to the government to fix the cut-off date I mean the public will feel remediless. Let us hope the government will step in and solve this problem and the moment this problem is solved I think this issue will disappear and our youth both from Khasi-Jaintia and Garo community will start applying for all the jobs,” he asserted.

The memorandum will also be submitted to all ministers and leaders of all political parties for their necessary intervention in the matter.

Kharjahrin informed that in the memorandum, the HYC has demanded that the cut-off date for implementation of the roster system should be prospectively from 2022 since the Meghalaya High Court had clearly stated these are policy matters best left to the executive and the legislature.

“This is also because the Supreme Court in so many of the cases had clearly stated that roster should be implemented prospectively not retrospectively. Therefore, we would like to see if the government decide either through a state legislative Assembly or an All-party meeting or even through the Cabinet because office memorandum (OM) can be changed at the Cabinet level itself,” he added.

He also informed that the Council also demanded that when it comes to a backlog, there should not be any deviation from the policy.

“We have seen some departments now are starting to talk about filling up the backlog posts. What is necessary to understand is that as per the Meghalaya Job Reservation Policy, if there is any category that cannot fill up any posts, that category can be filled up by another category and in the next recruitment year there should be some adjustment but if in that recruitment year, that particular category could not fill up that post lapsed, the policy says it so. So when it lapsed how can you now start talking about backlog? Of course, if there are one or three posts which do not lapse yet then you deserve to fill up but when the post already lapses. 1972-1973 posts till 2022 let us be franked they already lapse as so many recruitment years have come one after another. When it comes to backlog we would like to see there should not be any deviation from the policy and there should not be any contradictory to the policy. When the posts lapse it lapses you cannot talk about backlogs.”

“Thirdly, we have seen in the past two-three weeks that there is a recruitment agency both in East Khasi Hills and West Khasi Hills where they start giving roster separate for Khasi and Jaintia and Garo categories but if we go as per the policy it says that in district level category there will be 80 per cent for Khasi-Jaintia Hills and 80 per cent for Garo Hills that is what we are following for the past 50 years. When we have a combined Khasi, Jaintia and Garo category at the district level, where is the question now of giving a particular post for Khasi and Jaintia and a particular post for Garo. So this is illegal because the policy does not allow doing so,” Kharjahrin further added.

Julius Dorphang case: HC rule out interference with judgments

The Meghalaya High Court has decided not to interfere with the judgment of the trial court which sentenced former Mawhati legislator Julius Dorphang to 25 years in imprisonment for raping a minor girl even as it directed that the survivor be paid compensation of Rs 20 lakh.

“Accordingly, the term of imprisonment of 25 years as awarded by the trial court by indicating cogent reasons therefor, does not call for any interference,” the division bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee said in its judgment while dismissing the appeal filed by Dorphang.

The Court said considering the age of the convict, such a tenure could be 15 years or 20 years or 30 years or any number of years in between. The discretion that is exercised is for the benefit of the convict by not awarding the maximum sentence permissible.

“In such a scenario, even though there is no specific prescription in the provision for awarding a sentence of 15 years or 20 years or 22 years of imprisonment if such tenure is indicated, it will be deemed to fall within the bandwidth of discretion made available to the court by the relevant provision,” it added.

Dorphang was challenging the order dated August 24, 2021 passed by the Special Judge Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO), FS Sangma in Ri-Bhoi district which sentenced him to 25 years imprisonment.

Meanwhile, the Court has directed the State to ensure the continued well-being of the survivor, at least till she reaches the age of 25.

“The fine, if paid, and a total amount of compensation not less than Rs.20 lakh, should be provided by the State to the survivor by way of investments that would mature on a periodic basis for her to receive the same. In other words, the State will pay a further Rs.5 lakh to the survivor by way of compensation, in addition to the sum of Rs.15 lakh that she receives from the fine. If the appellant does not pay the fine and serves a further five years of rigorous imprisonment, the State will make over the equivalent amount of Rs 15 lakh to the survivor,” it said.

“The total amount of Rs 20 lakh must be invested in the name of the survivor within three months from date with the State taking adequate measures to ensure that the entire amount is not squandered in a hurry or the survivor is cheated of any part of it by any other person,” the Court added.

The judgment further stated that the State will also be responsible for taking care of all the medical needs of the survivor free of cost and befitting a Grade-II officer of the State for at least the next 20 years.

In addition, if there is any special programme or working opportunity that is available or for which the survivor qualifies or if there is any late education programme for women where the survivor may be accommodated, the State should provide all assistance to the survivor to lead a remaining normal and healthy life, it said while asserting “The society at large owes a huge apology to the brave young survivor for having failed one of its most precious and tender.”

Further, the Court stated that nothing said herein and nothing done pursuant to this judgment and order will stand in the way of the proceedings arising out of the FIR filed on behalf of the survivor at Madanryting being brought to a logical conclusion in accordance with law.

Court denies Dorphang’s plea for leniency

Dismissing the appeal for leniency filed by former Independent legislator and rape convict, Julius Dorphang, the Meghalaya High Court said the “society at large owes a huge apology to the brave young survivor for having failed one of its most precious and tender.”

Dorphang, a former militant leader of the outlawed Hynñiewtrep National Liberation Council, was convicted and sentenced to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs.15 lakh by a trial court for raping a minor.

The convict appealed for leniency on various technical grounds.

“The term of imprisonment of 25 years as awarded by the trial court by indicating cogent reasons therefore, does not call for any interference,” a division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Wanlura Diengdoh said.

“At the time of the commission of the repeated acts of rape on the same woman in Umiam, the appellant was about 52 years old. By imposing a sentence of 25 years of imprisonment, the trial court has ensured that by the time the appellant is let loose again in society, his libido would have been sufficiently lessened by age and adequately chastened by the punishment. He (Dorphang) will then no longer be able to unleash his lust or indulge in any further virile bravado,” the bench noted.

The court further ordered that the convict would have to pay a fine of Rs. 15 lakhs failing which he would have to undergo an additional five years of rigorous imprisonment.

“If the appellant does not pay the fine and serves a further five years of rigorous imprisonment, the state will make over the equivalent amount of Rs.15 lakh to the survivor,” the Court said.

The state government would also pay an additional sum of Rs. 5 lakhs to the survivor by way of compensation and ensure the continued well-being of the survivor, at least till she reaches the age of 25.

“The fine, if paid, and a total amount compensation not less than Rs.20 lakh, should be provided by the state to the survivor by way of investments that would mature on a periodic basis for her to receive the same,” the Court said, adding the total amount of Rs.20 lakh must be invested in the name of the survivor within three months.

“The state government would also be responsible for taking care of all the medical needs of the survivor free of cost and befitting a Grade-II officer of the state for at least the next 20 years,” it said.

Additionally, if there is any special programme or working opportunity for the survivor or if there is any late education programme for women where the survivor may be accommodated, the state should provide all assistance to the survivor to lead a remaining normal and healthy life.

Dorphang appealed for leniency by arguing through his attorney that the victim’s age cannot be conclusively proven to be that of a minor.

However, based on several accounts, including the victim’s father, the school headmistress and also scientific evidence produced by a dental surgeon and an ossification test conducted by the radiologist, the victim’s age was proven to be around 15-16 years when she was violated, the bench said.

“There does not appear to be any glaring infirmity in the judgment of conviction or the consequent sentence pronounced against the appellant, the trial court dealt with the material before it at great length and justly arrived at the right conclusion,” the bench ruled.