By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: While there is a growing demand for implementation of the ILP in the State, the Maitshaphrang Movement has urged upon the State Government to legislate ‘Equitable Distribution of Ancestral & Self Acquired Property Act’ to empower the indigenous people economically and help tackle the problem of influx.
“This Act is important to encourage people in our State to take up economic activity in a big way. This will gradually enable our own people to have control over the economic power,” Maitshaphrang Movement convener Michael N Syiem told reporters here on Thursday.
According to Syiem, the system of inequitable distribution of property among the indigenous people of Meghalaya which does not financially empower the Khasi and Garo men and women apart from the youngest daughter of the family to go into economic activity is not a good trend.
“As it stands at present, a large number of economic opportunities available in our State are quickly filled up by these legal and illegal migrants whose system allows and encourage their sons to undertake financial and economic expansion right from their families,” Maitshaphrang convener said.
While citing an example about the Iewduh market in Shillong, he said that one would be able to observe that from the Khasi side, the market is dominated by women and from the migrants side by the men with former financially being bought out.
“When there is an opportunity to earn a better livelihood across the border than what is available back home, then there is no Berlin wall, barbed wire fencing or any preventive mechanism that can stop a determined person from crossing the border legally or illegally to get avail of the opportunity,” he said.
According to him, migration with an intention to dominate and subjugate is the greatest threat to small populated indigenous people of the region.
“It has happened in Tripura, it is happening in Tibet and in Assam and if no urgent steps are taken it will happen in Meghalaya,” he warned.
While pointing out that the absence of a mandatory and compulsory registration of marriage law is another problem, Syiem pointed out that many migrants target the youngest daughters for marriage or live in relationships and use them for further expanding their business activities by not having to paying any income tax.
According to Syiem, economic power and influx control mechanism is interlinked and is an immediate priority for protecting the indigenous people from becoming minorities in their own land.
Stating that present Industrial policy should be reviewed, Syiem said, “We need a policy that lays more stress on capital intensive industries rather than labour intensive industries.”
Syiem also said that the present industries that are labour intensive should be given a time frame to restructure their industries to be more capital intensive failing which they should be closed down. “An important safeguard in the new industrial policy is that indigenous people should be given first opportunity to be trained as skilled labours before the industries are allowed to be set up,” he suggested.
Stating that section 4 (1) (e & f) of MRLT Act should be scrapped off, Syiem said, “This section has been more of the bane than a boon for Meghalaya allowing setting up of educational institutions and industries which do not really consider the interest of the people of the State.
He said that RTI findings have revealed that the subsidy given to these industries is more than the revenue they contribute to the state exchequer.