KHADC rejects Meghalaya Building Bye Laws, 2021 for encroaching into Sixth Schedule areas

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaOctober 25, 2021

The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) on Monday outrightly rejected the Meghalaya Building Bye Laws, 2021 for “encroaching” into the Sixth Schedule areas.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the executive committee which discussed at length the agenda note brought by the Executive Member in-charge Building Bye Laws Paul Lyngdoh.

The Meghalaya Building Bye Laws, 2021 was published by the Urban Affairs department on March 9, this year.

This has superseded a government notification issued by the Principal Secretary of the Urban Affairs Department on February 1, 2019, which had notified the three Autonomous District Councils (ADCs), – KHADC, JHADC & GHADC to implement the building bye-laws in areas outside municipalities.

Speaking to journalists, KHADC chief executive member Titosstarwell Chyne has questioned as to how the government expects the same building bye laws which are implemented for town areas and urban areas will be applicable in rural areas.

“Therefore, the people from rural areas will never accept the new building bye laws of the government,” he said.  

Asked if this was an act of betrayal on the part of the government, Chyne said, “The government has not only betrayed the ADCs but has betrayed the people of the state.”

He reminded that the state government’s decision to empower the ADCs was after following protests by the people especially from Upper Shillong and others as they do not want to fall under the purview of the building bye laws of the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

“This was the reason why the state government has decided to empower the ADCs as one of the authorities for implementing the building bye laws but now it is just the opposite,” he regretted.

Elaborating further, EM in-charge Building Bye Laws Paul Lyngdoh said, “After I have brought this note, the EC has decided to reject the Meghalaya Building Bye Laws, 2021 notified by the Urban Affairs department.”

He informed that before framing the new bye laws, the urban affairs department had convened meetings with the ADCs three times adding during these meetings, “we have discussed about the bifurcation in order to demarcate the jurisdiction.”

He added this was because the state government had maintained that it will implement the building bye laws in municipal areas, scheme areas and master plan areas and properties of the government while apart from these all areas falls under the ADC jurisdiction.

“But what is so surprising is the fact that the ADCs have never received the minutes of the three meetings but have only received a copy of the Meghalaya Building Bye Laws, 2021 which is totally different from what we have discussed during the meetings,” Lyngdoh said.

He also cited an example that the state government in its notification issued on February 1, 2019 had notified that the ADCs will have their own power to issue building permission in areas under their respective jurisdiction.

“However, when it comes to the Meghalaya Building Bye Laws 2021, the name of the ADCs as one of the authorities was mentioned only in the ‘definition’ of the gazette but after that there was no mentioning about the ADCs and their jurisdictions in the bye laws,” he said.

The EM further alleged that there was no action taken on the agreement made in the meetings held earlier that the ADC can implement their own building bye laws as per suitability of the villages under its jurisdiction.

He said moreover, the state government had inserted another provision in the new bye laws which states that any area measuring 50,000 sq ft and above, building permission has to be sought from MUDA even though such lands fall under the Sixth Schedule area.

“This would mean that they (government) can convert the ADC areas into urban areas through this provision,” he added.

Lyngdoh also pointed out that the new bye laws states that the qualification of the competent authority to provide clearance for the building plans should be engineers and architects who are Ph.D holders from a university and have 10 years experience.

“But such people are not available in Meghalaya and I don’t think they are available in the NorthEast region. Yet the government expects such people will give clearance to thousands of building applications,” he said while adding that the EC finds all these are impractical.

Asked, Lyngdoh said, “The issue now is that MUDA has encroached beyond its jurisdiction firstly by claiming the ADC areas which are above 50,000 sq ft and we say areas which are under the ADC jurisdiction, the ADC should have its sole right to issue the building permission.”

“These are byelaws of urban affairs. We say that we will accept them provided that they are suitable and are applicable in the case of rural areas provided that we have our own authority. We have also constituted such authority (to issue building permission). However, the state government has not given any space for such authority in its new bye laws,” he said.

The EM said as per the new building bye laws of the government, no one can issue building permission in areas under the ADCs.

“The MUDA also does not have any authority as it only seeks to give building permission to areas 50,000 sq ft and above and government lands. The question now is what will happen to the lands falling outside the provision since the new bye laws has not mentioned about who should have the authority to do so,” he said.

He also admitted that the issue related to the building bye laws has gone back to square one since the new Meghalaya Building Bye Laws, 2021 has taken precedence over all the government notifications including the one issued on February 1, 2019.

“We thought that in the spirit of the notification (February 1, 2019) they will frame the bye laws but the bye laws have left out all ADC areas,” Lyngdoh stated.

Meanwhile, the KHADC chief said that the government should spell out the areas falling under the ADC.

“Secondly, if you say we should issue the building permission, let the ADCs implement their own building bye laws,” he concluded.