Meghalaya to forward 2 village admn bills to Governor

Seeking to institutionalise the role and functions of the traditional institutions in the state, the Meghalaya government today said it would approve and forward two village administration bills to the Governor for his assent.
"We have agreed in principle to facilitate the smooth passage of the village administration bills of the two councils," District Council Affairs Minister H D R Lyngdoh told newsmen after a four hour meeting with the chief executives of both the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) and Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) here.
He said, "The government will immediately forward the bills to the Governor for his assent, whenever the district councils are ready."

Expressing satisfaction on the draft bills, the DCA Minister pointed out that both the bills have 'minor' defects, the correction of which will have to be carried out by the respective executive committees (ECs) of the two councils.
According to the Minister, all other issues related to the two bills have been resolved with the presence of officials from both the Law department and the DCA department.
The DCA Minister also appealed to the agitating group led by former KHADC Chief Executive Adelbert Nongrum to end their indefinite hunger strike in view of the decision of the government on the matter.

Nongrum along with five others have been staging the indefinite fast for past 11 days, demanding the immediate passing of the KHAD (Village Administration) Bill, 2014 passed by the KHADC, 10 months ago.

"Since, we have agreed in principle to pass these bills, I appeal to them to withdraw their fast," the Minister said.
Meanwhile, KHADC chief Pynshngainlang N Syiem said he would take up the matter immediately to correct the flaws within a day or two.
Echoing similar views, JHADC CEM Thombor Shiwot said, "We have accepted the suggestions by the government to rectify the minor defects. We are taking back the bill to the council to correct the defects which will take at least two-three days.