Imphal: Manipur government will take a decision regarding the conducting of elections to the six Autonomous District Councils in the state which have been lying vacant till date after their tenure ended in November last year.
The All Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM) and other civil society organizations based in the hills have been demanding elections of the ADCs at the earliest.
On Sunday morning, representatives of the ATSUM had met state Chief Minister N Biren Singh at his Chief Minister Secretariat and deliberated on the genuine demands of ATSUM for holding ADC elections expeditiously.
The meeting took note of the various issues involved in the context of the evolving scenario arising out of the Covid 19 pandemic, and also the related demand for creation of Autonomous District Councils for the newly created districts from other stakeholders, said a statement released by the state government.
After thorough discussions, it was agreed that the State Cabinet will take a decision by 31 March 2021 on the issue of conducting ADC elections and related matters, after consulting all stakeholders. It was also decided to appoint Losii Dikho, Minister (PHED, Printing & Stationery) and Vungzagin Valte, Minister (TA&H, Transport, GAD) to coordinate with all concerned for the same.
Till such time as above, ATSUM also agreed to suspend all forms of agitations in connection with the above issue, the statement added.
It may be noted that the ATSUM on Saturday called a bandh in the hill districts denouncing state government’s failure to issue notification for holding elections to the six existing ADCs of Churachandpur, Sadar Hills, Senapati, Chandel, Tamenglong and Ukhrul, which affected normal life.
Notably, the tenure of the offices of the Members of the six ADCs was extended by six months after the expiry of their normal tenure in June last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic and their term had again expired on November 30. Since then, the offices of the Members of the ADCs have been lying vacant with no elections till date.
