The Meghalaya Legislative Assembly is the
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...
legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
of the
Indian state
India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions.
History
Pre-indepen ...
of
Meghalaya
Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of As ...
.
Constituted as a directly elected body in 1972, it has 60 members, filled through direct elections held every five years.
Like other Indian states, Meghalaya has a
parliamentary system of government
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
. The executive branch of the Meghalaya Government is derived from the Legislative Assembly.
History
In independent India, the areas now constituting the state of Meghalaya were part of the state of
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
and represented in the Assam Legislative Assembly. The
Indian Parliament
The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...
passed the Assam Reorganisation (Meghalaya) Act in 1969, which led to the establishment of an autonomous state of Meghalaya within Assam on 2 April 1970.
A legislature of 37 members for the new autonomous state was established, with representatives elected indirectly by the autonomous direct councils.
The first sitting of the assembly took place in Tura on 14 April 1970. In 1971, the Indian Parliament passed the
North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, which converted Meghalaya from an autonomous state within Assam to a full member state of the Indian Union.
The State of Meghalaya was officially formed on 21 January 1972.
The Legislative Assembly was then reconstituted as a directly elected body.
The regions of Meghalaya are represented in the Assembly, with 29 members elected from Khasi Hills, 7 from Jaintia Hills and 24 from Garo Hills.
List of Assemblies
The following is the list of all the Meghalaya Legislative Assemblies:
Office-bearers
The office-bearers of the 10th Legislative Assembly of Meghalaya are:
Committees
There are 15 committees in the Legislative Assembly of Meghalaya:
#Business Advisory Committee: decides the time-table for assembly functions and for evaluation of legislation.
#Committee on Petitions: responsible for examining petitions submitted to the assembly, collecting evidence and preparing reports.
#Committee on Public Accounts: examines the budget, appropriations and auditing of state agencies, programmes and government.
#Committee on Public Undertakings: responsible for monitoring and improving the workings of
public sector undertaking
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...
s such as government corporations, housing programmes and economic development schemes.
#Committee on Estimates: evaluates statistics and estimates to improve the efficiency and administration of various government functions, agencies and programmes.
#Committee Welfare of the Scheduled Tribes & Scheduled Castes: responsible for monitoring programmes aimed for the economic and social development of the scheduled castes, tribes and backward classes residing in the state of Meghalaya.
#Committee of Privileges: examines any issues and violations of the privileges, conduct and benefits given to members of the assembly.
#Committee on Subordinate Legislation: monitors if the state government's functions and legislation comply with the state constitution.
#Committee on Government Assurances: monitors the reliability and fulfillment of targets and promises made by the chief minister and cabinet ministers.
#Rules Committee: maintains the rules of business and code of conduct for members of the assembly.
#House Committee: oversees the amenities for members of the assembly such as housing, food, health-care and transport.
#Library Committee: is responsible for the maintenance and development of the state government and assembly library.
#Select Committee: is charged with the examination and development of specific legislation, preparing it for final passage.
#Committee on the Empowerment of Women: oversees schemes and programmes aimed to increase representation of women in society and economic sectors.
#Budget Committee: examines budget proposals for various organs and departments of the state government.
Members of Legislative Assembly
Notes
References
{{Authority control
State legislatures of India