Shillong: Clan elders are squaring off against the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council. They claim the council is using digital reforms to seize control of ancestral lands. The tension centers on the Khasi Hills Autonomous District (Regulation and Administration of Land) (Amendment) Bill, 2026. Elders warn this legislation puts the future of the Sixth Schedule and the Khasi matrilineal system at risk.
The Synjuk Ki Rangbah Kur Ka Bri U Hynniewtrep met in Mawkyrwat to organize a formal protest. They plan to hold a mass convention in Shillong on July 7. Their ire stems from the deletion of Section 16 of the principal Act. That section previously required the Council to consult traditional village institutions before setting land ceilings.
Opposition leader Titosstarwell Chyne led the dissent during the Council summer session. He demanded to know why the mandate for local consent was removed. The federation stated that any move to dilute their legal protections would be "firmly opposed."
The Council claims the changes are needed to fix administrative gridlock. Powell Sohkhlet, the Executive Member for land, argued that years of consulting villages failed to stop the loss of Raid lands. The new bill creates a Land Recording Officer to manage digital records and QR-code authentication. Traditionalists remain unconvinced. They fear this bureaucracy is a front to strip village heads of their power and consolidate authority within the Council.
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