SHILLONG, OCT 7: The term of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council has been extended by another six months, with the Meghalaya government citing pending delimitation and SIR exercise.
The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday.
MDA spokesperson and cabinet minister Wailadmiki Shylla said the GHADC was the lone agenda.
“There was just one formal agenda — extension of the GHADC term for six months for conducting elections,” Shylla told reporters.
The Council’s term was first extended after elections could not be held due to unrest in Garo Hills.
“You know about the unfortunate incident in Garo Hills. Because of that we could not hold the election and extended it by six months. That period ends on October 17,” he said.
According to Shylla, the law allows a maximum extension of one year in two phases.
“There is a provision that we can extend in totality for one year — six plus six months. Since delimitation and SIR are still on, the cabinet today approved the second extension,” he said.
“We hope within this six months we can complete the GHADC election,” Shylla added.
