SHILLONG, Jan 7 � Meghalaya Government has extended the tenure of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) by another six months through an executive order.
The decision to extend the tenure of the Council from February 18 to August 18 was taken in a Cabinet meeting held yesterday evening. This is in fact the fourth such extension of the Council.
In November last year, the State Government has said that elections in the Council would be held in the early half of this year.
The elections to the Council was delayed as the State Government wants the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution amended so that some of the demands of the now disbanded Achik National Volunteers� Council (ANVC) could be met.
The demands form the core of the peace agreement between the State and the Central Government and the ANVC. One of the demands of the ANVC include increasing the strength of the GHADC from 29 to 40, which requires Constitutional amendment.
But with a tumultuous winter session of Parliament last year there was no sight of the Bill to amend the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
But now the State Government has said that an official communication has been received from the Centre that the Bill to amend the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution would be tabled in the Budget session of the Parliament.
�So we have decided to extend the tenure of the GHADC,� HDR Lyngdoh, District Council Affairs Minister said. He added that the extension would allow the elections in the GHADC to be held based on the increased strength of 40 seats from 29.
Meanwhile, it has been made clear that the strength of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills Council would remain unchanged as elections were held in these two Councils only last year.
