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NOT A TUSSLE YET MUCH MORE A HASSLE
Sumar Sing Sawian
There is no doubt, according to the surfacing of events, the state government and district council relations in the state are far from happy, if not very sour, though both the leaders, are in the same shelter of the Indian National Congress. The Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, has publicly denied that there exist a “Tussle” going on between himself and the Chief Executive Member of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council, Pynshngaiñ N. Syiem.
Both these administrative bodies, fall under the purview of the Constitution of India having each respective functional powers. However, the “tussle”, which the chief minister had denied has always been there all along. Many of the bills and legislations of the council are shelved to only gather dust for years together. There is always a “Tussle”, for power especially in lucrative subjects such as Forests and also overlapping of authority in the state and district councils administrations.
Therefore if the Chief Minister claims that there is no “Tussle”, yet there is much of a “Hassle” that cannot be hidden from public observation. The council chief who only the other day met face to face with the party high chief in New Delhi. Sonia Gandhi has accused the state government of being a stumbling block, on the right of the district council to administer and instead the government had used all its wits how to dilute the functions and powers of the District Council especially in relation with the traditional administration of the grass root level of the Khasi states called Hima their units called Raij of the head of states known as the Syiem, Doloi, Lyngdoh and other subsidiaries as the Dorbar Shnong or Village Council, headed by the Headman known as Rangbah Shnong.
The matter came to the forefront when the High Court in Shillong struck down the powers of the village headman authority, especially as an authority to issue certificates of residence to settlers in various villages in rural areas and also localities in the urban areas, certificates for the transfer of property, opening of bank accounts and other certificates pertaining to the day to day needs of the people. The ruling of the High Court had therefore created a hue and cry because of the inconvenience in the grass root level of administration.
This public outcry against the High Court ruling had prompted both the state government and also the District Councils to hurriedly come out with legislations in an attempt to counter the High Court ruling. The state government had promptly issued an ordinance which the chief minister explained that it was only an interim arrangement that was urgently required at this juncture to taking care of the urgent and genuine needs of the common citizens for empowerment to the headman or Rangbah Shnong. The District Council on the other hand also came out with similar legislations named as the Village Administration Bill of the Khasi and also of the Jaintia Hills District Councils. But these bills to the dismay and disappointment of the District Councils never saw the light of day.
The Khasi Hills district council Chief Pynshngaiñ N. Syiem while in his talks with the Congress Chief, Sonia Gandhi said that the state government had attempted to dilute the powers of the District Council in openly bringing out the ordinance to empower the traditional institutions which he claimed to be a subject matter of the District Councils.
To the public eye, there exist a clear confrontation of the state government and the district council. In fact any sincere move from both sides there should have been a serious consultation of empowering the entire grass root traditional administration in a comprehensive manner, not only of the case of the Headman or Rangbah Shnong in particular.
Empowerment of the traditional administrative institutions need a new look, where in a clear cut definition of the Constitution of India is needed, in settling the matter once and for all.
This would remove the present existing impasse and conflict in the overall administration of the state government and the District Councils at all levels and would usher in a healthy administrative approach to benefit the people. All hitches would therefore be removed and that the representatives of the people would be more in a position to be responsible and responsive and shedding off their personal interest and benefits such as the dual post issue which has posed as a big question mark on the integrity of the representatives of the people.
Incidentally the District Council Chief Pynshngaiñ N. Syiem, is still clinging, a dual post benefit as member of the district council and also at the same time as member of the State Legislative Assembly of Meghalaya. Nowhere in the country can any person be a Member of the Assembly and at the same time a Member of Parliament. Even in Meghalaya itself, the traditional administrative heads are barred from contesting elections to be public representatives unless they step down from their heritage chairs.
Here again, there is the “Tussle”, that the Council Chief, holding dual post, has lingered on being as a council member and state assembly member. Altogether seven members of the state assembly had resigned from the District Council fearing disqualification, in the wake of the dual post Act of the state government w.e.f October 1, 2015.
Pynshngaiñ N. Syiem, is however specific, that he has nothing against the dual post issue, but that he was opposed only to the nature of the Prevention of Disqualification , Members of Legislative Assembly of Meghalaya Amendment Act 2015. His contention is that he is not against the spirit of the Act, but he was against the implementation period of midway and therefore contended that the Act be implemented from March 1, 2019.
