Tribal leaders committee refutes Govt's clarification : 15th sep15 ~ E-Pao! Headlines

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Tribal leaders committee refutes Govt's clarification
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, September 14 2015: Contd from previous edition .

Whereas in contrary to the Principal Act the proposed MLR & LR Act (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2015 reads as follows: .

"Whereas under Section 158 of the MLR & LR Act, 1960, land belonging to a Scheduled Tribe in the Valley Areas cannot be sold to a non-Scheduled Tribe without the prior consent of the Dy Commissioner concerned...".

Here we notice in the propose (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2015 the words "valley areas" has been cleverly inserted under Section 158 which was not there in the Principal Act,1960 .

Secondly, whereas it is mandatory on the part of the Deputy Commissioners to secure the consent of the District Council as per the Principal Act, the inherent power of the District Council has been deleted by omitting the words "District Council' and by insertion of the two Sections 14A and 14B and thereby vesting all powers with the Deputy Commissioners who can by-pass the District Council and obtain the approval of the State Cabinet which is violative of the provisions of Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council Act, 1971 .

Hence, in a nutshell, by insertion of the new Section 14 which reads as "...who intend to purchase any land in the State of Manipur..." as per the MLR & LR (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2015, all Non-Manipur persons living in Manipur (Hill & Valley) shall be entitled to purchase land in the hill areas.

Though the term "native people" is not defined anywhere in the proposed new Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015, but as clarified by the CM's Secretariat, it is assumed that native people includes all sections/tribes living in Manipur (Hills & Valley) .

Therefore, by process of simple application submitted to the Deputy Commissioners any native person (including Meiteis) can now purchase any land in the State of Manipur subject to approval of the State Cabinet.

In finality, the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms ( Seventh Amendment ) Bill, 2015, whose subject matter is purchase and acquiring of land is in letter and spirit not a Money Bill.

The Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Manipur Legislative Assembly - Rules 159 and 160 has therefore been violated.

By introducing the said Bill in the Assembly and deliberately by-passing the Hill Areas Committee is an act of violation of the provisions of - The Manipur Legislative Assembly (Hill Areas Committee) Order, 1972 - Articles 4 Clause (1).All Scheduled matters in so far as they relate to the Hill Areas shall be within the purview of the HAC and Clause (2) - Every Bill, other than a Money Bill affecting wholly or partly the Hill Areas and containing mainly provisions dealing with any of the Scheduled matters shall, after introduction in the Assembly, be referred to the HAC for consideration and report to the Assembly.

Hence, the claim of the Government that it is a Money Bill is totally untenable as per law and absolutely misleading to the people.

3 The Manipur Shops and Establishment (Second Amendment) Bill, 2O15 .

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