Shillong, September 8: The Meghalaya government has agreed that officials from East Jaintia Hills district will have no role, directly or indirectly, in the proposed fact-finding committee, while facilitation centres under the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA) are expected to become operational by early December, former Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) general secretary Donald V. Thabah said on Tuesday.
Thabah made the statement after a follow-up meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Dr Shakil Ahammed to review progress on the KSU’s five-point charter of demands earlier taken up with Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma and Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong.
He said the union expressed dissatisfaction over the manner in which the proceedings of the previous meeting had been recorded. “Today’s meeting was called by the government to follow up on the last meeting with the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister. We discussed progress on the five issues and expressed our dismay over how the proceedings were recorded last time,” Thabah said.
According to him, the minutes of the earlier meeting had stated that the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police of East Jaintia Hills would play a significant role in the proposed fact-finding committee. Thabah said the KSU objected to this, maintaining that district officials should not be involved in the committee. “It was agreed that the DC, SP and other officials of East Jaintia Hills should not play any role in the fact-finding committee. We objected to the minutes. The government has now agreed that they will not be part of it directly or indirectly,” he said. He added that the committee has already been constituted and that its details are expected to be shared within a day or two.
On implementation of the MRSSA, Thabah said the government informed the union that facilitation centres at Umling and Rattacherra, along with the District Task Force component, would become operational either by the last week of November or the first week of December.
The KSU also opposed the proposed online verification and registration of tenants, arguing that traditional institutions should be entrusted with the responsibility. “We objected to online registration of tenants. We are of the opinion that antecedents should be verified by traditional heads like Syiem, Sordar, Rangbah Shnong, Waheh Shnong, Nokma and others. They agreed to it,” Thabah said. He said the government had also agreed that the MRSSA facilitation centres should be made functional before the proposed facial recognition application is rolled out.
On the implementation of laws relating to migrant workers, Thabah said the Labour Department would conduct a workshop on Wednesday to train officials. He claimed the government had assured the union that provisions relating to the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, including integration with the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) and penalties for violations, would be incorporated. According to Thabah, a first offence would attract a fine of Rs 10,000, a second offence Rs 20,000 and a third offence Rs 50,000 along with a possible jail term.
On recruitment reforms, he said standard operating procedures have already been put in place and personal interviews for Grade-D posts have been abolished. A decision regarding technical non-gazetted Grade B and C posts is expected within one or two weeks, he added.
Turning to NEIGRIHMS, Thabah said the KSU reiterated its demand that the institute’s Governing Council should not be constituted until the union’s demands are addressed. He claimed the position has also received support from the NEIGRIHMS administration. “Even the Deputy Director of NEIGRIHMS has written to us and to the government that the Governing Council should not be constituted until the KSU’s demands are met,” Thabah said.
He added that the union had noticed some progress, particularly on implementation of the MRSSA and recruitment reforms, while the government had assured it that full details on the developments would be provided within a week.
