The Autonomous
District Councils: The Khasi Hills ADC came into
existence on 27th June 1952, then known as the
United Khasi-Jaintia Hills ADC. Later, however, in
view of the special needs of the Jaintia tribes, it
was bifurcated into two, that is, the Khasi Hills
ADC and the Jaintia Hills ADC. Therefore, in the
state of Meghalaya today, there are three ADCs,
viz., the Garo Hills ADC for the Garo tribes, the
Khasi Hills ADC for the Khasi tribes and the Jaintia
Hills ADC for the Jaintia tribes.
Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) are now in existence in the
states of Assam, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya. The three sisters Councils of
Meghalaya viz. Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council, Jaiñtia Hills Autonomous
District Council and Garo Hills Autonomous District Council but they have not
been in existence much earlier than the other Autonomous District Councils but
they have not been to assert themselves in the subject as spelled out in the
sixth schedule to the Constitution of India. While the Autonomous District
Councils in Assam and Tripura can boast of annual budgets of over sixty crores
those in Meghalaya have a current deficit budget of about twenty eight crores
respectively.
Fund is the life blood of any
administration. For the purpose of promoting the welfare of schedule
tribes or raising the level of administration of scheduled areas, the
founding fathers of the Indian constitution have provided Article 275
(1). Though funds to the State of Meghalaya are provided under Article
275 (1) from the consolidated fund of India. At the time when India was
at the threshold of Independence, the Khasi states were offered an
option to accede to the Indian dominion or otherwise which after
thorough deliberation, the majority placed their faith with the
independent India and one after the other signed the instrument of
accession in between 1947 and 1948 on condition that they will be
guaranteed of autonomy in their administrations and safeguards to their
traditions, customs, practices and usages through special mention in the
constitution that independent India would formally adopt. Hence the
sixth schedule to the constitution of India found a place in the
constitution as a brain child of the founding fathers of whom the (L)
Rev. J.J.M. Nicholas Roy, a Khasi social, religious and political leader
had a tremendous role to play as a member of the constituent assembly.
Thus the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) came into
being on June 27, 1952 , a culmination of implementation of the provisions of
the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India to fulfill the aspiration of the
tribal people inhabiting the North East under one composite state of Assam in
recognition of their time tested autonomous policy safeguarding their
traditional heritage, customs, practices usages and economic security while
conferring in them Executive, Legislative and Judicial powers along with
development and financial powers and functions. The Khasi traditional
institutions are therefore still functional today in their independent character
under constitutional sanction of the Sixth Schedule.
All laws, rules and regulations made by the ADC those requiring
approval/assent of the governor, are sent through the District Council Affairs
Department of the State of Meghalaya and after having obtained the
approval/assent of the governor shall be published in the official gazette of
the State Government to have the force of law, according to paragraph 11 of the
Sixth Schedule. Paragraph 3 to 10 of the sixth schedule envisage the powers of
the ADCs within the autonomous areas, to make laws of land, management of
forests, except reserved forests, regulation on trade by persons not being local
schedule tribes, appointment of traditional chiefs and headmen, inheritance of
property, marriage, divorce, social customs, establishments and maintenance of
primary schools, markets, taxation, issue of lease for extraction of minerals
etc.
The District Councils in Khasi and Jaiñtia Hills have their own
rules for the administration of justice known as the united Khasi Jaiñtia Hills
Autonomous District (Administration of Justice) rules 1953, under which three
classes of courts have been provided namely: -
i. Village
Courts, ii.
Sub-ordinate
District Council Courts and the Additional Sub-ordinate District Council Courts
and
iii.
District Council
Court and Additional District Council Court.
