SHILLONG: Laitumkhrah Congress MDC Antonio War has urged the District Council to take stringent measures in preventing the sale of the raid land to the State Government in the New Shillong Township.
“It is really sad that there is an attempt to sell the Raid land which actually belongs to the community,” War said while participating in the general discussion on the budget during the fourth day of the Council Summer Session on Thursday.
War said that the illegal sale of the Raid land would displace many families who have been residing in these lands for the many decades.
“Majority of the villagers residing in the various villages under the NST who are wholly dependent on agricultural activities for their livelihood would be severely affected if the sale is allowed to go on,” War said.
Pointing out that the State Government has already acquired a huge chunk of the land in the NST; he observed that many of the big educational institutions have already completed the fencing and retaining of the wall along the land which was allotted to them.
“The sad part is that the areas of many of the villages like Mawlong and Umsawli have drastically reduced. In no point of time, the local villagers would have to shift to some other area since they would no longer have a land for agricultural purposed to meet their livelihood,” the Laitumkhrah MDC said.
He added that the other worrying factor is the population of the migrant laborers and the increase in non-tribal population in the NST.
“By looking at the present trend, the expansion which is going on in the NST has not brought any benefit to the local people. The indigenous population will reduce into a minority in the NST if nothing is done to check this illegal selling of the raid land,” War said.
