TURA: Illegal sale of tribal land to non-tribals is allegedly taking place in Tikrikilla region of South West Garo Hills where many local land owners using Nokmas and leaders of haat committees to pose as witnesses have sold off their lands for hefty sums of money.
According to the local unit of the A’chik Youth Council (AYC) numerous surveys conducted by it have found that many tribal lands have been secretly transferred to non tribals without the knowledge and consent of the A’king Nokma, which is in violation of the Meghalaya Transfer of Land (Regulations) Act 1971 and Meghalaya Act 1 of 1972.
“In one case, we have recovered documents of land deeds made between the tribal transferer and non-tribal transferee in the year 2014 which were signed as witness by a Nokma and a president of the Haat Committee. This is evident that the illegal transfer of land is being approved just for their vested interests by none other than tribal leaders themselves which is a cause for serious concern,” the council said.
The AYC added that the same plot of land which was illegally transferred falls under a particular a’king land the Nokma of which might not even be aware of the illegal transfer taking place.
“We doubt that the concerned A’king Nokma has any knowledge of the illegal transfer of land under his jurisdiction. We request the Nokma as well as concerned authorities to conduct fresh scrutiny and checking of all lands to stop such activities in the future,” it said.
According to the council, the fact that non-tribal buyers are willing to shell out hefty sums of money for small plots of land have resulted in many tribals choosing to remain silent on the illegal goings on, in the hope that they too can sell their lands and make a profit. The council feels that immediate steps need to be taken by Nokmas concerned as well as the district authorities so that further illegal sale of land from Garo Hills to outsiders can be prevented in the future.