Shillong, April 28: The state government will soon prepare the rules of “Meghalaya Official Languages Ordinance, 2026”, which has accorded official language status to Khasi and Garo alongside English.
“Very soon we are going to prepare the rules of this very ordinance and then ultimately we will also start using these state official languages,” Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Parliamentary Affairs Prestone Tynsong said on Tuesday.
He also informed that the ordinance will be tabled in the upcoming autumn session of the Assembly for regularisation.
Terming the move as “historic”, Tynsong said it is one of the most important decisions taken during the terms of MDA I and MDA II governments, fulfilling aspirations of the people of across Khasi-Jaintia and Garo Hills regions.
He also mentioned that the government had the options of “official” and “associate official” for Khasi and Garo, it went for “official” rather than the latter.
“We ultimately decided that it should be official languages ordinance,” he said.
GHADC: Govt awaits delimitation panel report
On the next elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC), Tynsong said the government is awaiting the report of the delimitation committee before deciding the poll date.
The delimitation committee – entrusted to recommend redrawing of boundaries of GHADC constituencies – will submit its report to the Council, which will pass it and send to the Governor for approval.
“So, right now from the state government or the governor, we are waiting for that and once that is passed and send to the Governor, I am very sure we will be able to approve it,” he added.
The committee has been given three months to submit the report.
Supply of essentials to Garo Hills
Tynsong, replying to a query on disruption inter-state transportation essential commodities between Assam and Garo Hills, said both the governments are jointly working to resolve the issue to ensure smooth flow of commodities to Garo Hills region.
Admitting that the disruption was due to some kind of “misunderstanding”, he said, “We will work it out and make sure that no such stoppage of transportation of commodities happens throughout Garo Hills region.”
Both states are coordinating to prevent further stoppages and ensure uninterrupted movement of goods, he said.
