Rupa Marak hailed for raising upgrade of Dadenggre

Staff Reporter

Tura, March 3: In a show of solidarity and determination, the GSU Zonal Dadenggre, led by Tengsan M Marak, President of GSU WZ North Dadenggre, has extended its heartfelt gratitude to MLA of Dadenggre, Rupa Marak, for advocating the elevation of Dadenggre sub-division to a full-fledged district during the recent budget session. This pivotal moment has emboldened the community’s longstanding demands, igniting hope for swift action.

“This will be our foremost demand in 2024 regarding district status,” asserts Tengsan M Marak. “Under the GSU Western Zone North, Dadenggre, we reiterate our call for the creation of Dadenggre Civil Sub-Division into a fully-fledged district.”

Despite being the oldest civil sub-division in Garo Hills, Dadenggre has lagged behind Resubelpara and Ampati, both of which have achieved district status. All three sub-divisions were established in 1982, yet Dadenggre remains overlooked despite its larger population and jurisdictional area.

“Our demand for district status has persisted for 25 years,” emphasizes Tengsan M Marak.

Advocates of the upgrade highlight its potential to generate employment opportunities and enhance accessibility to administration for residents in remote villages. As bona fide citizens, they implore the government to address this matter promptly.

Moreover, the community pledges to engage with local MLAs from the six constituencies under Dadenggre Civil Sub-Division—Phulbari, Rajabala, Selsella, Tikrikilla, Raksamgre, and Dadenggre—to unite efforts towards fulfilling this demand and advancing the welfare of all constituents.

In a united front, the people of Dadenggre aspire for recognition and development, rallying behind their call for district status to bring about transformative change and inclusivity.

Court to decide on relocation from Sweepers’ Colony

Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Urban Affairs Sniawbhalang Dhar has informed that the state government has filed an affidavit before the Meghalaya High Court with regards to the proposal for relocating the 342 families of Sweepers’ Colony from Them Iew Mawlong.
Dhar told reporters today that now the matter is left to the court to decide.

The minister said that the government will also sit in a few days and take a call on the matter.

According to him, this was after the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) had rejected the government’s proposal to relocate the Sweepers’ Colony from Them Iew Mawlong to the existing land of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB).

Dhar however said that the government will always welcome the HPC if they want to discuss the matter.

On April 24, the Meghalaya High Court had deferred the hearing on the issue to June 7.

The order was passed by the division bench based on the request made by the state government and the HPC during the hearing held here.
The government had come up with a blueprint after rejecting the April 25,2022-proposal of the HPC that 200 square meters of land be provided to each of the 342 families within the European ward besides bearing the cost of construction of their homes.

In its recent 6-page reply sent to the Deputy Secretary of the Government of Meghalaya and other concerned departments, the HPC had alleged that the government’s proposal was “incomplete, unsuitable, unprepared, unfair and undemocratic.”

The HPC had also stated in its reply that “There are serious lacunae, sweeping and undesirable conclusions in the approach and attitude of the High-Level Committee of the Meghalaya government.”

“We are absolutely devastated that since the formation of the new government, ministers, MLAs and certain groups have been making unnecessary remarks saying that the whole issue would be resolved within the month of April. What magical trick do they have up their sleeve to resolve the issue within days? The matter is sub-judice and they are only paying lip service to respect for the judiciary. We will not buckle under political duress,” it had also added.

Councils still against inclusions in proposed amendment to 6th Schedule

The three autonomous district councils – KHADC, JHADC and GHADC – has reiterated their strong opposition against the inclusion of ‘unrepresented tribe’ and ‘village council’ in the proposed amendment to the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

After a joint meeting held here, KHADC chief Titosstarwell Chyne told reporters that the matter was discussed by the three ADCs after the Centre had yet again sought for their views.

“We are totally against implementation of the unrepresented tribe and the state government is also in the same line with us. Regarding the village council issue, we had maintained that instead of this, we propose village development council,” Chyne said.

He said that the two issues have been pending as they needed elaborate discussion.

“We have discussed this matter seriously. We have highlighted to our friends from Jaintia Hills and Garo Hills that in KHADC, we have passed the Village Development Council Bill and we would also like to that even in these two ADCs, they also should pass this Bill so that implementation of village council will not be applicable as we have our own traditional institutions,” Chyne said while adding that “because according to this proposed amendment, the implementation of the village council in the state will dilute the powers and functions of our traditional institutions. We will not like to see our traditional institutions will go away, we would like to see them to remain with our traditional practice that is why we have decided this matter will be discussed in the respective councils soon.”

When asked, the KHADC chief said, “These are the two issues which the central government has written to the state government to look into these issue.”

“Once we clear these two issues, then I think the central government also will be willing to pass this amendment at the earliest possible. Once we give green signal from here I think the Centre will take a call,” he added.

Regarding the number of seats, Chyne said, “We (three ADCs) have already agreed that it should not exceed 40 seats. That we have agreed.”

Further, the three autonomous district councils have also unanimously oppose the implementation of the Swamitva Scheme by the Centre.

“We totally oppose the implementation of this scheme in the state as our land tenure system is totally different from other states in the country. We have our traditional practices, we have our own land holding system in our state so that is why implementation of this scheme in the state is not acceptable,” Chyne said.

Meanwhile, the KHADC chief also informed that they demanded the state government to transfer back the subject relating to issuing of Scheduled Tribe certificate to all the three ADCs as it was done in the past.

“Issuing of PRCs by respective DCs was also discussed. The district administration should first get the confirmation from the ADCs before issuing any PRCs,” he stated.

ADCs want details of their share from royalty, taxes

The three autonomous district councils have asked the state government to provide the actual calculation of their respective shares from royalty on minor and major minerals and from the motor vehicle taxes.

Informing this after a joint meeting today, KHADC chief Titosstarwell Chyne told reporters that the issue relating to the financial matters to the three ADCs including GHADC and JHADC was discussed.

“We urge the state government that we should at least get the actual calculation regarding this matter,” Chyne said.

“We used to get share from the state government like minor and major mineral share and motor vehicle tax share from the state government. But unfortunately all these years, we never get a correct calculation how much our share used to be, we always got lump sum amount of share,” he added.

Urging the state government to also get more funds for the 3 ADCs, Chyne said, “We urge the state government to get more funds for all the three ADCs especially like the plan scheme, other financial assistance.”

Further, the KHADC chief said that they have also discussed about the delay in the release of the 15th Finance Commission Award from the Centre government and requested the need to release the funds in time.

“(We) urge the government to release our funds in time because delaying in the release of funds lead to delay in the implementation of the scheme. The central government use to give us pressure to submit the utilization certificates (UCs) but we cannot submit our UCs in time because we too did not get the funds in time,” he said.

According to him, the three ADCs are yet to get funds relating to Untied scheme for 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 till now.

“Therefore, we would like to jointly to urge the state government to see these kinds of delay in the implementation of the schemes should not take place,” he added.

ADCs say ‘NO’ to implementation of Uniform Civil Code

The three Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) have unanimously decided to jointly pass a resolution to oppose the Centre’s move to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state.

The decision was taken at a joint meeting of the chief executive members (CEMs) of the three Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC), Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) and Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) – held in Shillong here today.

“We have unanimously decided that we will jointly pass a resolution that implementation of UCC in the Sixth Schedule area will be totally opposed (by us) and we also pass a resolution in our respective councils soon regarding this matter,” KHADC chief Titosstarwell Chyne told reporters after the meeting.

The UCC is a proposal to formulate and implement personal laws of citizens which apply on all citizens equally.

He said that the meeting had discussed at length the intention of the central government to introduce the UCC Bill in the country while adding that “we feel that UCC will directly had an impact on the powers and functions of the ADCs especially with our customs, our traditional practices, community as a whole.”

When asked if a special session will be convened in this regard, Chyne said hopefully a special session will be called by next month as they would like to speed up this matter.

“There are so many problems as I have said that it (UCC) will affect our traditional customs like marriage system. Once this UCC is implemented, we will have a uniform marriage system but here in our custom we have different, so religious and traditional custom will be affected. As Scheduled Tribe, we feel implementation of this UCC will not be acceptable in the state,” he said.

Further, the KHADC chief said that the state government will also have to go in the same line once a resolution is passed by the three ADCs as was done in the case of the Citizenship Amendment Act.

“…the CAA has been exempted in the Scheduled area I think the UCC should also be exempted from the Sixth Schedule. Therefore, we are demanding for exemption of the UCC from the Sixth Schedule area,” he further maintained.

HPC calls govt blueprint ‘unacceptable’

In a hard-hitting reply, sent today to the Government of Meghalaya’s blueprint for relocation of residents of Punjabi Lane, Shillong, the Harijan Panchayat Committee after multiple rounds of consultation with its members, has stated that the proposal of the government was “incomplete, unsuitable, unprepared, unfair and undemocratic.”

In an exhaustive 6-page reply sent to the Deputy Secretary of the Government of Meghalaya and to other concerned departments, the HPC letter reads, “There are serious lacunae, sweeping and undesirable conclusions in the approach and attitude of the High-Level Committee of the Meghalaya government.”

“We have attended meetings of the government in good faith but the government is resorting to misinformation and disinformation through the media and at the meetings, the only attitude is to overawe us into submission to their proposal. The language of the political leadership is one of intimidation. They are putting our lives and properties at risk and making us vulnerable,” said HPC secretary Gurjit Singh.

The HPC has strongly alleged that the “entire exercise is an ill-founded relocation theory, which actually compels the resident citizens of the Punjabi Lane (Harijan Colony) to forego their rights, title and interest over whatever small land portion in the colony and to accept the prisons cells like accommodation being offered in the proposed Blueprint.”

Speaking to the media, HPC secretary Gurjit Singh reiterated that, “our original demands presented in the “Eight-point resolution” still stand and we will not buckle under political duress merely because it is convenient for the government to do so and simply because due to passage of time, the land has become a commercial goldmine.”

The Harijan Panchayat Committee which, despite all odds, has been spearheading a battle for rights of the residents since the last three decades, has in its detailed reply to the government said that the disputed land belongs to the Syiem of Mylliem, and not to the government and any attempt by the government to buy it is violative of the Meghalaya Land Transfer Act.

With reference to the recent incident of 31 May 2018, the HPC has stated that “taking advantage of a stray case of discord, suddenly the “relocation theory” was resurfaced for political and vested interests. We have all the official documentation necessary to live as citizens at our ancestral land in Punjabi Lane.

The letter pointed out gaping holes in the government’s blueprint -area too small and proposed houses pigeonholes, official building guidelines violated, no roadmap of demolition of present structures, no public amenities and last but not the least no specification of title to the land and the houses.

“There are so many grey areas and gaps. The government must clarify about all such concerns and only then it can be taken up for consideration by the Harijan Panchayat Committee, without prejudice to our right to reject the proposal” stated Gurjit Singh while speaking to media personnel.

Deriding the government’s haste, the HPC remarked, “It has been held by the Supreme Court of India and other courts as well that the right to lead a dignified life is an inalienable right and provisions of housing cannot be such that it is inhabitable for residents to live there. In the light of such judicial pronouncements, the residents are entitled to a better resolution.”

In an earnest appeal to the government and people of Meghalaya, Gurjit Singh said, “the government must stop the witch hunt and allow us to build our houses and we can assure that the beauty of the area will be fully maintained and for this the residents have the full support of the Sikh community.”

“The residents of Punjabi Lane want to live with honour and dignity at the land of their forefathers and it would be improper to treat them as aliens. The solution to this should be peaceful, amicable, mutual and permanent, without trampling on our fundamental rights,” he added.

Them Iew Mawlong: HPC waiting for govt’s call

The Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) has said that they are waiting for the state government to call for a meeting to discuss the issue related to the relocation of the Sweepers’ Colony from Them Iew Mawlong.

“We are waiting for the government’s call,” HPC secretary Gurjit Singh said.

He however refused to indicate if the committee would submit its reply on the government’s proposal.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong informed that the government would soon fix a meeting with the HPC to further sensitize them on the stand of the government and to also listen to their point of view on the matter.

“We are waiting for the return of the Deputy Chief Minister in-charge urban affairs as we want to convene a meeting with the HPC within this month,” he added.

Tynsong said that he is not aware if the HPC has sent any communication to urban affairs with regards to the reply to the government’s proposal.

On March 16, the state government set a deadline to the HPC for submitting its reply by April 10, with regards to the proposal for relocating of the Sweepers’ Colony from Them Iew Mawlong to the existing land of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB).

The government had also turned down the request of the HPC to give another three months’ time to respond to the proposal.

The decision was also taken following an order of the Meghalaya High Court on February 16, asking the state government to immediately resolve the issue after the Assembly elections.

On September 29, last year the state government presented the blueprint to the HPC during a meeting, which indicated its decision to construct multi-storey flats at the existing official quarters of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) for relocation of the 342 families.

The state government had outrightly rejected the April 25,2022-proposal of the HPC that 200 square meters of land be provided to each of the 342 families within the European ward besides bearing the cost of construction of their homes.

HPC yet to reply to Govt’s relocation proposal

The Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) is yet to submit its reply on the government’s proposal for relocating the 342 families of Sweepers’ Colony from Them Iew Mawlong despite the deadline served by the government has expired today.

“Officially we have not received (the reply of the HPC) yet,” Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong told reporters.

He however informed that the government may invite the HPC for discussion within this week.

“I have seen in the newspaper that they are going to meet us. Maybe this week itself, we will call and again discuss with them because we have already sent to them the blueprint so it is only a matter of decision to be taken by them as from the government side we have already presented to them all the details,” Tynsong said.

On March 16, the state government set a deadline for the HPC for submitting its reply by April 10, with regards to the proposal for relocating the Sweepers’ Colony from Them Iew Mawlong to the existing land of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB).

The government had also turned down the request of the HPC to give another three months’ time to respond to the proposal.

The decision was also taken following an order of the Meghalaya High Court on February 16, asking the state government to immediately resolve the issue after the Assembly elections.

On September 29, last year the state government had presented the blueprint to the HPC during a meeting, which indicated its decision to construct multi-storey flats at the existing official quarters of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) for relocation of the 342 families.

The state government had completely rejected the April 25,2022-proposal of the HPC that 200 square meters of land be provided to each of the 342 families within the European ward besides bearing the cost of construction of their homes.