Shillong: Meghalaya cabinet on Wednesday approved a further six-month extension of the term of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) to facilitate the conduct of elections.“The extension is necessitated by the ongoing delimitation and electoral revision processes. The previous six-month extension is due to end on Oct 17,” CM Conrad K Sangma said after the cabinet meeting.He said the govt expected to complete the necessary processes for conducting the council elections within the extended period.Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA)-2.0 spokesperson and cabinet minister Wailadmiki Shylla said the cabinet had a single formal agenda: extending the GHADC’s term by six months to facilitate the election.Shylla said the council elections could not be held earlier because of the law-and-order situation in the Garo Hills. He added that the further delay was linked to the delimitation of constituencies and the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.“We hope we can complete the GHADC election within six months,” Shylla said.On Sept 9, governor CH Vijayashankar approved amendments to the Assam and Meghalaya Autonomous Districts (Constitution of District Councils) Rules, 1951. The amendments provide for GHADC elections to be held on the basis of a separate electoral roll for Scheduled Tribe voters and exclude non-tribals, according to the copy.The Meghalaya govt subsequently notified the GHADC (Second Amendment) Rules, 2026, in the state Gazette.Under the amended provisions, Rule 8 makes Scheduled Tribe status a requirement for contesting GHADC elections, Rule 128 sets out the Scheduled Tribe criterion for voters, and Rule 129 provides for the preparation of a separate electoral roll for the council instead of using the general electoral roll.Violent protests over the participation of non-tribals in the tribal council were reported in the Garo Hills region in March. The protests followed, after which CM Conrad K Sangma said corrective measures would be taken to ensure that the GHADC served the community for which it was originally intended.
