3 min readDibrugarhMar 24, 2026 07:06 AM IST
The Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) Monday passed an amendment to the existing rules on qualifications necessary for membership to the council to make it necessary for candidates to have a Scheduled Tribe certificate, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma announced.
The question of the eligibility of non-tribal permanent residents of the areas under the GHADC had been at the centre of violence and tensions in the Garo Hills earlier this month. This amendment passed by the GHADC comes after a series of incidents, including the postponement of the GHADC polls which were scheduled to be held on April 10, the extension of the term of the current council by six months and the resignation and replacement of the Chief Executive member of the council.
The Garo Hills districts have a mixed population, particularly in the plain belt in the region’s bordering area with Bangladesh and two of the GHADC’s current members are Bengali-origin Muslims.
Sangma called it a “historic amendment”.
“This is truly a historic moment and important decision as we know that the district councils have been traditionally meant for the tribals of the region,” he said. “Hence, it is important that the conditions introduced in the Garo Hills district should be brought in. This was something that was a long-pending demand of the people but for the past 74 years, none of the governments or district councils were able to do this. But I’m happy to see that today we have come to this decision.”
On February 17, the then CEM of the GHADC had issued a notification declaring that the council’s executive committee resolved that candidates for elections to the body must be members of recognized Scheduled Tribes in the state of Meghalaya. This was contentious because it was not operational because the due process to make it enforceable had not been followed. In the run up to the polls, Garo pressure groups pushed for its implementation while this was resisted by non-tribals and the situation escalated when a former non-tribal MLA sought to file his nomination.
The February 17 notification was subsequently quashed by the Meghalaya High Court ruling that it “cannot pass legal scrutiny” and that a decision by the executive committee on this question would have to be subsequently placed before the District Council, then forwarded to the state government’s District Council Affairs Department and finally for assent by the Governor.
The polls were then postponed by the state government and the then CEM – facing an imminent no-confidence motion – resigned from his position and a new CEM was elected, with Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong then saying that his issuing the notification without consulting his colleagues and without introducing it in the house of the council was the primary reason. The amendment in question was passed by the GHADC, led by the new CEM, in a session held on Monday.
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“I’m sure that our non-tribal friends will understand that this council was always something that was meant for the tribal residents of different parts of the region,” said Sangma on Monday.
