Meghalaya government has decided to make it mandatory for applicants from areas under the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) to furnish a Khasi tribe certificate to obtain a Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate.

 Announcing the decision on May 23, Social Welfare Minister Paul Lyngdoh said a notification to this effect will be issued soon. He stated that a new clause has been added to the guidelines, making it compulsory for applicants to submit a tribe certificate from the competent authorities under KHADC.

He explained that apart from the existing guidelines for receipt and disposal of applications, one more clause has been included, making it compulsory for applicants to submit a tribe certificate from the competent authorities under KHADC, which shall be mandatory.

The minister also stated that although the tribe certificate issued by KHADC is a valid legal document, it was not previously included as a prerequisite for obtaining an ST certificate. He said that for anybody to register themselves or claim to be registered and issued with an ST certificate, they should possess a tribe certificate issued by the KHADC as a pre-condition.

This move by the state government is expected to streamline the process of verifying the tribal status of applicants from the Khasi Hills region and ensure proper documentation before granting ST certificates.

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