SHILLONG, Nov 30: The West Khasi Hills district regional committee on interstate border dispute will submit its report to Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma when he returns to the state.
The East Jaintia Hills district regional committee has sought time to submit its report while the Ri Bhoi committee is still working on its report.
The West Khasi Hills district panel, which is headed by PHE Minister Renikton L Tongkhar, was mandated to visit the three areas of Tarabari, Gizang and Hahim, talk to all stakeholders, including residents, and understand the problem.
“We have finalised the report today and will submit it to the Chief Minister when he returns to the state,” Tongkhar said.
He said a peaceful solution could be achieved when both states respect the will of the border residents.
“We are talking and discussing that people in those areas are facing problems. If we are only concerned about them but don’t respect their will, the problems will linger. This is the opinion of our committee and we consider it as the most important factor,” the Minister said.
Tongkhar said the committee had an exhaustive exercise during which it covered some 34 villages.
He said he had conducted three joint visits with Assam’s Border Area Development Minister Atul Bora and both committees had similar findings.
“We hope the two states will respect the will of people but the details will be made known later,” he said.
He also said that the committee had agreed to the opinions and views suggested by the pressure groups and the people in the villages. Meanwhile, Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui said the chairmen of the East Jaintia Hills committee, of which he is a member, and Assam’s Cachar committee met recently in Shillong to discuss issues pertaining to Ratacherra.
“We presented our case but since some verification has to be done as to which areas Meghalaya and Assam occupy, we shared the map with the Cachar district administration. As such, we will submit our report before December 15,” Rymbui said.
Stating that there will always be criticism from some quarters and the committee is moving ahead with a positive mindset, he said, “This is a big step forward. It is not a question of haste but we must seize the opportunity.”
He hoped the efforts taken by both states will help reduce the areas of dispute and eventually, lead to the resolution of the problem once and for all. He sought the cooperation of all concerned in the interest of the people of the state and those residing on the border.
The two states had constituted three regional committees each to examine the status of six “less complicated” areas of differences. The areas in question are Tarabari, Gizang and Hahim in West Khasi Hills, Ratacherra in East Jaintia Hills and Boklapara and Khanapara-Pilangkata in Ri Bhoi districts.
Each committee was assigned to coordinate with the relevant regional panel set up by the Assam government, provide with cross-reference and verify the names of villages (sub-villages) claimed by Meghalaya with the names of villages recorded by the Assam government.
The committees were also to establish the geographical location of the villages and their contiguity and examine the status of the population of the villages, including ethnicity, according to census records.
They were to prepare an “as is” Public Asset Register in the villages, created by both governments, visit the villages and interact with residents as well as the elected members of Autonomous District Council concerned to learn about the perception of people living in the area.
According to a notification issued by the state Chief Secretary, the committees will also document factual information regarding the physical and time-wise distances from the villages to the nearest public service delivery point/administrative unit.
The committees were to submit their report to the government based on inspection of the villages and agreed yardsticks of historical perspective, ethnicity of locals, administrative convenience of their contiguity with the boundary and their perception.