Shillong: John F Kharshiing wants the government to move faster. The Meghalaya State Planning Board co-chairman and Grand Council of Chiefs head filed a petition with Rajya Sabha MP James P. K. Sangma on October 4. He demands amendments to Articles 338 and 338A of the Constitution. The goal is to force a strict, time-bound schedule for filing National Commission for Scheduled Tribes reports before Parliament.
Kharshiing points to a 1997-98 report from the former National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. That document recommended laying reports before both Houses within three months of submission to the President. It also suggested that Action Taken Reports should follow within six months. He told the MP, "no legislative amendment has been made to prescribe such a timeframe."
The current system is broken. Reports sit idle. Kharshiing highlighted that many NCST documents remain marked as yet to be laid before Parliament. He argued this lack of a statutory clock guts constitutional safeguards and accountability. His push follows years of failed attempts to fix the process, including meetings with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes dating back to 2015 and earlier petitions from 2010.
This is a national issue. It affects tribes across the country, not just those in Meghalaya. Sangma promised to look into the matter and check the status of the stalled reports before getting back to Kharshiing. The petitioner wants legislative action to ensure the President lays these reports and official responses before Parliament without indefinite delays.
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