The tribal hill districts want a new bill that will grant them more autonomy. Groups in the Imphal Valley object that it will create a ‘state within a state’.
Letpao Haokip who is also a member of the Hill Area Committee (HAC) of the draft bill, ‘The Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Council Bill, 2021’ said the bill should be constituted under rules and regulations of the Indian Constitution and no person can make objections against it.
IFP Editorial: Another debatable issue has come up as to whether the HAC is acting within its mandate or beyond it. Its mandate was given by Article 371 C and the Manipur Legislative Assembly (Hill Areas Committee) Order, 1972. The question now is whether that mandate also empowers the HAC to amend or expand its own mandate?
The Hill Area Committee has termed the government meeting notice on November 27 "ultra vires" which directly contradicts the Rules of Procedure and Conduct Of Business in Manipur Legislative Assembly and thereby breaking all conventions as followed by the Legislature since the creation of the state in 1972.