Govt bats for change in MLAs pension

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Sept 15: The Legislative Assembly of Meghalaya (Member’s Pension) (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which seeks to reduce the qualifying years of 2 years and 6 months for an MLA to be eligible to receive a pension, was tabled in the first day of the Assembly’s autumn session held today.

Stating the object and reasons after introducing the Bill, Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Parliamentary Affairs Prestone Tynsong said that the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly has proposed to reduce the qualifying years of 2 years and 6 months as contained in proviso to section 3 (l) of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly (Member’s Pension) Act, 1977.

He said that the existing provision in section 3 of the said Act puts a cap of 2 years and 6 months for an MLA to be eligible to receive a pension. In view of this law, members who have served as an MLA for less than this period were not eligible to receive a pension.

Tynsong also said there are few persons who were members of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly who have fallen short of 2 years and 6 months as required in section proviso to section 3 (l) of the said Act and thus ineligible to receive a pension.

“To enable these persons to be eligible to receive a pension, the instant amendment is being placed. Therefore the proposal to amend section 3 of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly (Member’s Pension) Act, 1977 by inserting a new proviso and by giving it retrospective effect is being proposed in the amendment. Hence, this Bill,” he said.

In the financial memorandum, Assembly’s Commissioner & Secretary Andrew Simons said that the additional expenditures will be involved from the consolidated fund of the State while implementing this amendment provision.

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Govt charts plan to promote fruit industry

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Sept 14: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said today that the Government has charted a plan to promote the fruit wine industry in the State. He said that a robust policy has been put in place to promote a thriving ecosystem that links tourism, agriculture, entrepreneurship, and job creation by promoting local fruit winemakers.

Speaking at the launch of the North East Wine Incubation Centre at Mawdiangdiang in Shillong, the Chief Minister recalled the moment when he encountered a homemade pineapple wine with a simple, handcrafted label on a beer bottle, which stemmed the idea to devise a strategy to promote professional winemaking and packaging.

“Despite the unimpressive packaging, the wine inside was exceptional. This experience, combined with discussions and observations, led to the realization that there is immense potential in the fruit wine industry in Meghalaya,” the Chief Minister added.

“This entire activity that we are trying to do, it links tourism, agriculture, and job creation. It has the potential to unlock a vast capacity that is lying dormant,” he added.

On a comprehensive framework to promote the industry, the Chief Minister informed on the importance of establishing a proper system, policy, and support structure for local fruit winemakers. This initiative is not only aimed at boosting the wine industry but also at benefiting farmers, tourists, and entrepreneurs in the state.

“I am in public life to make a positive difference in even a single individual’s life. That is my driving force,” he said, while adding, “The activity that we are trying to do here is going to make a huge positive difference in people’s lives.”

He further envisioned Meghalaya as the fruit-wine capital of the country. He expressed confidence in achieving this goal with the collaboration of all stakeholders involved.

He hoped that the wine incubation centre would provide a platform for aspiring entrepreneurs to test and utilize machinery, encouraging innovation and economic growth through winemaking.

Addressing concerns about licensing and accessibility for winemakers, he assured the public that the licensing fees would remain nominal. He also informed that the Government is in the process of streamlining the registration process to facilitate ease of access for local winemakers.

The inauguration of the wine incubation centre, which is the first of its kind in the entire North East, was also attended by Agriculture Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh and Excise Minister Kyrmen Shylla.

In September 2020, the Government of Meghalaya amended the Meghalaya Excise Rules (Assam Excise Rules 1945) through a notification dated September 29, 2020 (No. ERTS (E)7/2020/52), to legalize the production and sale of Homemade Wines under license to provide a legal avenue for local Winemakers to carry out winemaking as a commercial venture. This amendment was adopted with the intent of not only creating an opportunity for Wine Tourism but also providing an impetus to the horticulture sector to undertake the cultivation and production of indigenous fruits on a commercial scale. This move has created new opportunities for winemakers, entrepreneurs, and farmers in the state.

The First Batch of Wine Appreciation & Wine Making Certification Courses was held from June to July 2023 for 68 trainees and for the Second Batch of 25 trainees in August 2023. A total of 93 winemakers have been trained so far with 16 of them currently undergoing internship in the winery of Hill Zill Wines, Bordi, Maharashtra.

The courses offered guided tastings, educational workshops, and interactive sessions with sommeliers and winemakers making it an immersive and enriching experience for wine enthusiasts, connoisseurs, and industry professionals looking to enhance their knowledge, indulge their senses, and connect with fellow wine enthusiasts.

The Wine Appreciation & Wine Making Certification Courses have been organised by MFEC with the aim of encouraging local winemakers to transition from the traditional art of winemaking to modern winemaking techniques to ensure that the quality of wine produced in the state matches nationally and internationally recognized wine standards.

Having been actively involved in the formulation of the current policy, the Meghalaya Farmers’ (Empowerment) Commission (MFEC) has now taken on the yoke of responsibility to provide an impetus not only for winemakers but also for consumers and businesses to actively undertake the promotion and consumption of local fruit wines and meads in the country to ensure that Meghalaya is at the forefront of fruit wine and mead production and refinement throughout the northeast.

JHADC told to work with JMB on garbage management

The Meghalaya High Court has asked the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) to act in conjunction with the municipality to ease the citizens’ woes in regard to the garbage collection in Jowai town.

“In the meantime, the Jaintia District Council should act in conjunction with the Municipality to ease the citizens’ woes,” the division bench said in its order passed after hearing a PIL filed by the Synjuk Ki Waheh Shnong Jowai.

An affidavit has been filed by the Jowai Municipality pursuant to the order dated April 17, 2023.

The petitioner flagged several issues and said that all is not well in the matter of collection of garbage in the town of Jowai.

The petitioner’s affidavit in such regard should be filed within a week from date, the bench said while adding that the matter will appear 10 days hence.

The next hearing on the matter will be held on May 12.

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.