Villagers ‘willing’ to give land to BSF for development

NONGPOH: The alleged land acquisition by the Border Security Force (BSF) in three villages in Ri Bhoi got a twist in the tale on Friday with a group of villagers expressing willingness to hand over land.
Landowners from Nagrabil and Pilangku A & B met Deputy Commissioner Rosetta Mary Kurbah and said the claim of Umtyrnga villagers that arable land belonging to farmers from Umtyrnga would be affected was “not true as the land which is supposed to be handed over to the BSF is not included property of those who do not want to sell their land”.
The landowners had taken a decision to hand over land as the BSF had promised them to give better roads, a school and a hospital. Village leaders of Umtyrnga along with pressure group leaders had held a meeting on November 26 voicing their protest against the land acquisition.
Speaking to media persons after meeting Kurbah, M. Arengh, who was leading the delegation, said, “We have had a joint meeting with the people of three villages earlier where we decided to hand over land owned by around 50 villagers to the BSF.”
“This decision was made since border villages were neglected and deprived of several developmental schemes, be it road, school or hospital,” he added.
Arengh also clarified that the landowners were not under any pressure. “We have selected only those non-agricultural no man’s land which were close to the boundary line with Assam,” Arengh said and added that it was a proposal and land has not been given yet.
HNYF Northern Region, Assistant Secretary Donroi Kshiar who was also present during the meeting said the Federation urged the Ri Bhoi DC to conduct a spot inquiry to find out the ground reality.
Kurbah said, “If the BSF has the intention to acquire land in the district, it has to go through a strict legal procedure as per the Land Acquisition Act and the Land Transfer Act.”