SHILLONG, MAR 30: BJP MDC from Tura Bernard N Marak on Wednesday said nokmas will lead the rural local bodies which are commonly known as village councils in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC).
“The village councils was part of the agreement signed (by the ANVC and ANVC.B) in the peace pact in 2014. I’m grateful to the MDCs for being considerate enough to accept one of the five motions I moved yesterday, along with the long awaited Garo Customary Law (GCL),” Marak said in a statement.
“Through the motion moved by me, we want to empower the nokmas and the people at the grassroot level in developmental activities and administration of the Villages through active participation in the village councils,” he said.
According to him, the traditional system has been weakened which needs to be rectified by encouraging local self-governance.
Stating that rural local bodies will start to function again in Garo Hills taking up all developmental and administrative works at the village level, Marak said, “Nokmas will lead and be ex officio members of the Village Councils. One laskar area is equivalent to one Village Council. There are around 257 village Councils and with the delimitation there will be more Councils. These Councils will empower the public at the grassroot level encouraging local self-governance.”
“The GCL has been passed unopposed again as the previous one has lapsed. I expressed my concern proposed to get the views and opinions of the maharis, Nokmas and the 12 tribes of Garos without which GCL is incomplete,” he also asserted.
Meanwhile, the Tura MDC said that the GHADC is moving towards transformation, reformation and strengthening of its traditional bodies.
He said many departments were taken over by the state in the past. After statehood, the Village Councils in GHADC stopped getting fund and through political pressure, the rural development funds were handed over to the State.
“State implemented these funds through District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) which was an agency to implement the Rural development funds. However, through the Agreed Text for Settlement signed between Centre, State and ANVC groups, the funds meant for Rural Development through the duly elected Rural Local Bodies (Traditional bodies / Institutions) which are commonly known as Village Councils,” he said.
By Our Reporter
+ There are no comments
Add yours