SHILLONG, April 12: Ruling out any review of the border agreement signed with Assam, the CM said there is no reason why the pact should not be accepted after the Survey of India submits its report and Parliament gives its assent.
“On what basis is it being said that it is illegal for the government to transfer land to Assam? We had taken all aspects, including administrative control, into consideration,” he said.
The CM also said he understood the villagers were being emotional but pointed out that theirs were not on the list of the disputed villages in the 2011 report submitted to Assam. “They have the right to go to court but I do not know what the outcome will be at this point,” he added.
Referring to the Right to Fair Compensation and Section 41 of the Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act of 2013, KHADC chief Titosstarwell Chyne had earlier questioned the decision to transfer land to Assam without the consent of the landowners, traditional heads and the council.
The CM, however, claimed his government was able to keep almost 98% of the six disputed areas in Meghalaya. The approach to the remaining six areas of difference in the second phase would be similar to that in the first phase, he said.
“The official talk (for the second phase) may start in June or July. We would like to have the best solution,” he said.
Conrad slams former CM
The chief minister on Tuesday attacked senior AITC leader and former chief minister, Mukul Sangma for submitting a list of only 23 villages to Assam in 2011 and said that the opposition leader was questioning the government for leaving out villages now while forgetting that he had done the same thing when he was in the chair (CM).
“The then government (under Mukul Sangma) had submitted a list of 23 locations. I personally feel that if they had gone and done a survey at that time maybe the situation would have been different today. Had they asked the people that time maybe the number of villages in the list would have been 29 and not 23,” the CM added.
He also said it is wrong for the opposition leader to say today that he does not agree with the efforts of the government as he (Mukul) had made the demand when he was the CM.
“We have managed to get 21 out of these 23 villages back in Meghalaya. If there were 29 villages, I am sure we would have got 27 of those but those villages were never added to the list submitted in 2011,” Conrad said.
Pointing out that the opposition leader has been very much a part of this entire process from day one and the current regime has only acted on the basis of the report submitted by him in 2011, the CM said, “Therefore if he is questioning the solution and saying why are those villages left out I think he is questioning himself.”