SHILLONG : The Meghalaya government has agreed to keep officials of East Jaintia Hills out of the fact-finding committee and operationalise facilitation centres under the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA) by late November or early December, former Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) general secretary Donald V Thabah said on Tuesday.
Thabah was speaking after a follow-up meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Dr Shakil Ahammed on the five-point charter of demands submitted by the KSU to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma.
He said the meeting was convened by the government to review progress on the issues discussed during the previous 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.
EJH DC, SP to stay out of fact-finding panel
Thabah said the minutes of the earlier meeting had incorrectly stated that the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police of East Jaintia Hills would play a key role in the fact-finding 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.
According to Thabah, the committee has already been constituted and details are expected to be shared within the next few days.
MRSSA centres to be operational by early December
On the implementation of the MRSSA, Thabah said the government has informed the KSU that facilitation centres at Umling and Rattacherra, along with the District Task Force component, will become operational by the last week of November or first week of December.
The KSU also opposed online tenant verification and demanded that the process involve traditional heads.
“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 etc. They agreed to it,” Thabah said.
He added that the government also agreed to make the facilitation centres functional before introducing the facial recognition app.
Migrant Workers Act provisions discussed
On the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, Thabah said the Labour Department would conduct a workshop to train officials on its implementation.
He said the government assured that provisions of the Act, including CCTNS integration and penalties, would be incorporated.
According to Thabah, the proposed penalties would be ₹10,000 for the first offence, ₹20,000 for the second and ₹50,000 for the third offence, along with imprisonment.
Recruitment reforms underway
On recruitment reforms, Thabah said standard operating procedures (SOPs) are already in place and that personal interviews for Grade-D posts have been abolished.
A decision regarding technical non-gazetted Grade B and Grade C posts is expected within the next one or two weeks, he said.
KSU opposes NEIGRIHMS Governing Council formation
Regarding NEIGRIHMS, Thabah said the KSU has demanded that the institute’s Governing Council should not be constituted until its demands are addressed.
He claimed that the institute’s administration has also supported the position.
“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,” he said.
Thabah said there has been some progress on MRSSA implementation and recruitment reforms, while the government has assured the KSU that complete details will be shared within a week.