SHILLONG, March 27: The Durbar of Khlieh Nongsynshar Raid Mylliem Syiemship (DKNRMS) has petitioned the Ministry of Home Affairs opposing the memorandum of understanding the Meghalaya and Assam governments had signed on January 29 to resolve the boundary dispute in six of the 12 sectors in the first phase.
The DKNRMS sent the letter to the MHA secretary through Shillong MP, Vincent H Pala. It said the MoU was arrived at hastily without consulting or seeking the consent of the traditional heads, the village durbars, the local people, landowners and the district council.
All these stakeholders will be adversely affected by the MoU, the letter said.
“Hence, we request that the same may be looked into and may be decided according to the popular will of the people of the area. We would like to draw the kind attention of the Ministry to the same issue which was raised by the United Khasi and Jaintia Hills District Council on June 22, 1974, bringing to the notice of all concerns that the boundary dispute between the two states should have been in accordance with a notification published in 1876,” it stated.
The DKNRMS claimed the two states had ignored the said notification. It pointed out that a committee was formed on July 12, 1967, where it had been resolved to implement the 1876 notification.
The Durbar Raid said the notification was never implemented for unknown reasons although the resolution of the committee was agreeable to the people of the area.
“The people residing, occupying, cultivating, etc., along Pillangkata-Khanapara bordering Assam and Meghalaya are not willing to be included under the state of Assam and they do prefer to be within the boundary and jurisdiction of the state of Meghalaya,” the DKNRMS said.
It observed that the total area in the Khanapara-Pillangkata sector to be adversely affected is 1.77 square kilometres (442.31 acres).
According to the Durbar Raid, the people to be affected by the boundary settlement have been expressing their frustration in various forms.
“Samples of such frustrations of the people are manifest in some of the letters addressed to persons and authorities that are appended to this representation. Therefore, we now would like to request the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and all its members that the people residing within the aforesaid boundary dispute would like to be within the state of Meghalaya as per the notification of 1876 which is appended to this representation for your kind perusal and necessary consideration (sic),” the DKNRMS said.
It urged the MHA to consider the plea of the people of the border areas to scrap the MoU between the governments of the two neighbouring states.a