SHILLONG: The State Assembly during its one-day special session witnessed a detailed discussion on law and order in Meghalaya, including the present situation arising out of the ban on coal mining and attack on the two social activists.
While Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma pointed out that there is complete lawlessness in the state, Home Minister James Sangma asserted that lawlessness was more during the tenure of the Congress-led government.
According to Mukul, there is fear in the minds of people, including those who are in power. “A Cabinet minister recently said he is afraid to go to East Jaintia Hills,” Mukul said.
He also pointed out that extortion from truck drivers on the highways in Garo Hills and elsewhere in the state is on the rise.
However, James denied the charge that there is lawlessness in the state and added that from 2004 till 2018, 335 people were killed in insurgency related incidents out of which 39 were security personnel.
James also recalled that nine people were killed in police firing during the agitation related to bifurcation of MBoSE in the past.
The home minister further pointed out that the police firing incident at Mookhep resulted in the death of two persons over the issue of coal mining.
“Lawlessness is what happened at Mookhep a few years back,” he said.
Earlier, initiating a short discussion on the prevailing law and order, sense of insecurity in the state and misuse of government machinery, Congress MLA HM Shangpliang, while criticising the government, questioned how the PSO of a Cabinet Minister could assault a trucker from Bhutan who was carrying coal with legal papers.
On the issue of long pending Assam-Meghalaya boundary dispute, he urged the government to make an effort to hold talks with the counterpart even as he questioned the government over the issue of Harijan Colony which has not been resolved as the entire area is still under blockade and traffic regulation.
Coal re-assessment
Mukul made serious allegations saying the deputy commissioners in mining districts were forced to provide figures of re-assessed coal by the present government.
“From where did the coal appear after the extracted coal was assessed in 2014 following the ban,” Mukul questioned, while maintaining that the officers will be in trouble if the Supreme Court or any other authority investigates the matter.
He also said the issue of ban on coal mining can be resolved and asked the government to go through legal way to solve the matter while urging the chief minister to call a meeting.
He also alleged that the government does not want anybody to raise these issues even as he urged it to insulate the police organisation from anybody who wants to misuse it.
Congress MLAs Zenith Sangma and Ampareen Lyngdoh also participated in the discussion.
In reply, James said the overall law and order in the state is stable and the internal security has improved.
He said the re-assessment of coal was done during the tenure of the previous government.
On the long vexed boundary dispute with Assam, the minister said the government is continuously monitoring the situation in the disputed areas and administration at the district level often meets and resolves the issues whenever they crop up.
Talking about the fencing along the Indo-Bangla border, James said out of 443 km, 319 km has been fenced while the remaining portions are still pending due to opposition from pressure groups.
On the issue of Harijan Colony, he replied that the issue is complex and the government wants to take every stakeholder on board to solve the matter amicably.
