Shillong: The Meghalaya Legislative Assembly on Monday introduced a series of government Bills on the first day of the Autumn Session, covering forest administration, money lending, public services, official languages and higher education.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, who holds the Forests and Environment portfolio, introduced the Meghalaya Forest Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026). The proposed amendment seeks to operationalise the Meghalaya Forest Authority Act, 1991 by providing for grants from the state government and the creation of a dedicated Meghalaya Forest Authority Fund.
Sangma also introduced the Meghalaya Money Lenders and Accredited Loan Providers’ Bill, 2026, which seeks to replace the existing Meghalaya Money Lender Act, an adaptation of the Assam Money Lenders Act of 1934. The proposed legislation follows recommendations of a technical group constituted by the Reserve Bank of India, which had called for a review of the existing money-lending legislation in the state.
The Chief Minister further introduced the Meghalaya Right to Public Services (Amendment) Bill, 2026. The Bill proposes an automatic appeal mechanism for applications submitted through notified electronic systems where no decision is taken within the prescribed time.
Under the proposed amendments, appeals can be automatically generated and electronically transmitted to facilitate the statutory appellate process. The government has clarified that the mechanism will not amount to deemed approval and will not alter the existing statutory rights of applicants or the responsibilities of designated officers and appellate authorities.
Another key Bill introduced by Sangma was the Meghalaya Official Language Bill, 2026.
The Bill seeks to replace the Meghalaya Official Language Ordinance promulgated by the Governor on April 27, 2026, following the repeal of the Meghalaya State Language Act, 2005.
The proposed legislation will pave the way for Khasi and Garo to be recognised as official languages of Meghalaya alongside English, replacing the existing framework under which Khasi and Garo have only been recognised as associate official languages for limited use.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui introduced several Bills concerning private universities in the state.
The Assembly introduced the International Open University (Repealing) Bill, 2026, which seeks to repeal the International Open University Act, 2011. The government cited the lack of progress in establishing the university, failure to deposit the required endowment fund and disputes among the sponsors and trustees as reasons for repealing the Act.
Rymbui also introduced the Khasi Jaintia Presbyterian University Meghalaya Bill, 2026 and the Sister Nivedita University Meghalaya Bill, 2026. The latter proposes to establish a university in Meghalaya offering programmes across disciplines including science, engineering, technology, medicine, nursing, management, law, humanities, pharmacy, architecture, social sciences, education, media, design, hospitality management and skill development.
The Mahatma Gandhi University Bill, 2026 was also introduced, along with the Martin Luther Christian University (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
The proposed amendments to the Martin Luther Christian University Act include shifting the university’s headquarters from Mawphlang to Umphyrnai, making the Dean Academics the Secretary of the Academic Council and the Finance Officer the Secretary of the Finance Committee.
The amendment also seeks to clarify that the university’s jurisdiction extends across Meghalaya, remove provisions relating to distance education and affiliated colleges, require compliance with directions issued by the state government and incorporate government nominations to the Board of Governors and Board of Management.
The Assembly also saw the introduction of the Maharashtra Institute of Technology University of Meghalaya (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
The Bill proposes to make the Governor of Meghalaya the Visitor of the university, bringing its governance structure in line with other private universities in the state. It also seeks to incorporate provisions relating to the Board of Governors and Board of Management in accordance with the Meghalaya Private Universities (Regulation of Establishment and Maintenance of Standards) Amendment Act, 2025.
The Bills were introduced after the Assembly granted leave to the ministers concerned to introduce the proposed legislation.