Overview
- On Monday the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council amended Rules 128 and 129 to create a separate electoral roll for council polls that limits voter and candidate eligibility to Meghalaya‑notified Scheduled Tribe status.
- The new rule replaces the long-standing practice of using the state assembly electoral roll and will exclude non-tribals from voting in or contesting GHADC elections.
- The decision follows months of debate, an earlier executive notification that the Meghalaya High Court quashed for procedural faults, and violence earlier this year that led the state to postpone the April 10 council elections.
- With the amendments passed, officials must now compile a dedicated GHADC electoral roll under the revised eligibility criteria and opponents are likely to seek judicial review or other political responses.
- The move is framed by supporters as restoring the Sixth Schedule council’s purpose to protect tribal self‑governance, and it will directly affect who chooses local leaders and how services and local decisions are governed in the Garo Hills.