Shillong, Nov 3: The United Democratic Party (UDP) on Tuesday asserted that government land in the Khasi Hills falls within the jurisdiction of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC).
Weighing in on the ongoing controversy surrounding the Shillong ropeway project, UDP general secretary Titosstarwell Chyne said the party has already endorsed its position and will make it public soon from Shillong city.
“The CEC has endorsed this to the party’s Shillong city, and very soon, from Shillong city, we will take a decision on how to speak on this issue,” Chyne said.
Defending the KHADC’s seizure of the ropeway site, Chyne said the law mandates a trading licence for any non-Khasi doing business in the state.
“In truth, the rules or the Act clearly state that anyone who is not a native or a landowner, meaning a non-Khasi, when he comes to do business in our land, whether as an individual or a company, most importantly, he must first obtain a trading licence. That is clear,” he said.
He declined to comment on the delay by the Council in taking up the issue, saying it was for the VPP-led Executive Committee to explain.
On the locking of the office, Chyne said the legality would depend on ownership.
“If it is government property, then we have no right to say anything. But if it is company property, it again lies with the EC, in what manner they justified through the law to go and lock that office,” he said.
Chyne also clarified the Sixth Schedule position.
“Under the jurisdiction of the Sixth Schedule, there are also government lands, and in these government lands, it does not mean that the jurisdiction of the District Council does not apply,” he said. “Except for these European wards which the Sixth Schedule does not cover, the Sixth Schedule itself falls under the District Council,” he added.
