KHADC introduces new Bill to protect land tenure system

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJune 24, 2020

The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) on Wednesday introduced the KHAD (Regulation and Administration of Land) Bill, 2020 which seeks to protect and conserve the land tenure system in the tribal areas.

This was after the executive committee of the KHADC decided to recall the KHAD (Allotment, Occupation or Use or Setting Apart of Land) Regulation Bill, 2014, which was lying pending with the state government for the past six years.

The new Bill was tabled by the Council’s chief executive member (CEM) Titosstar Chyne during the summer session which kick-started here.

“The EC after scrutiny of the Bill 2014 deems it necessary to recall and substitute the said Bill with the KHAD (Regulation and Administration of land) Bill, 2020 which provides for codification of the prevailing customary land tenure system in Khasi Hills and at the same time to regulate and administer the landholding system,” Chyne said while placing a report of EC on the Land Bill.

The objective of the new Bill is to also protect and conserve the ideal practices that have preserved the socio-cultural ethos of Khasi society, to negate the effect of the globalized socio-economic environment, and to provide for a legislation for administration and regulation of land to uphold the custom, usages and the land tenure system prevailing in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District within the provisions of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India.

“Now, therefore, the district council…deems it expedient and necessary to codify and make laws for regulating and administrating the allotment, occupation or use and/or the setting apart of land in the KHAD (other than any land which is reserved forest) for the purpose of agriculture, residential and other purposes for the promotion of the interest of the inhabitants of the District,” it said.

According to the report of the EC, the KHAD (Allotment, Occupation or Use or Setting Apart of Land) Regulation, Bill was first passed by the Council on October 24, 2005.

The 2005 Bill was however returned by the Governor on March 18, 2008 with a message that Section 2 (a) as defined in the Bill is clearly in conflict with the interpretation rendered by the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, which observed that the allotment, occupation or use or setting apart of land does not take within its fold the transfer of land.

Subsequently, the matter was placed before the House on October 22, 2009 and after deliberation, the Council authorized the EC to seek legal opinion and to re-examine the matter.

Later, the EC, after due consideration re-examined the matter whereby Section 2 (a) in the 2005 Bill has been corrected and rephrased as “allotment” means distribution or setting apart of land to a person who is a Khasi inhabitant of the area to which this Act extends by means of conferment of the title or right to use and occupy the land including sale, lease, mortgage, exchange, gift etc, for any purpose, and was placed again and passed on October 18, 2012.

However, the District Council Affairs department on January 18, 2013 returned the Bill, 2012 with the observations that “The pitch and substance of the Bill, 2012 is the same as that of the principal Bill of 2005 and hence the Bill is not within the legislative competency of the KHADC.”