Centre approves final settlement with ANVC
SHILLONG: A date is being worked out by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to sign the memorandum of settlement with ANVC.
An official source said on Saturday that the Centre had written to the State Government last month that the ministry has approved the final settlement with ANVC and a suitable date is being finalized to sign the settlement in Delhi.
The source added that after the conclusion of the Parliament Session, the date will be fixed by the Centre. The ongoing Parliament session will conclude on August 14.
It was on July 23, 2004 that the ANVC had entered into tripartite ceasefire agreement with both the State and Central Governments.
Eight years after ANVC signed the ceasefire agreement, there was a split in ANVC with the formation of its breakaway group (ANVC-B) led by Rimpu Marak as its chairman and Mukost Marak as self-styled commander-in-chief
The process for settlement began when the Government entered into a draft peace pact with ANVC-ANVC-B factions in January 2013 in Shillong.
The initial demand of the ANVC was for the formation of a Greater Garoland, but at a later stage, the outfit demanded formation of a Garoland Autonomous Council.
However, after it was found to be not viable since the State has district councils, the ANVC agreed to strengthen the district councils especially the GHADC with more seats and additional powers.
There was delay in the final peace settlement since the Centre wanted a clarity on the number of seats which needs to be increased from the present 30 in GHADC.
Later, the state government wrote to the Centre clarifying that that the Government plans to increase the number of seats both in the KHADC and the GHADC from the existing 30 to 40 seats and in JHADC to 34 seats from the present strength of 30.