Development projects in Meghalaya are nearly always short-circuited because of non-availability of land. “Land belongs to the people,” is a cliched magniloquence that needs to be deconstructed after a proper land survey and when it will be firmly established as to who the “people” in the platitude – land belongs to the people – really are. There are people and there are people. Its easy to miss the woods for the trees. There are many occasions when people have demanded hospitals from institutions that have the wherewithal to build such facilities but when the question of allocating land for such purposes arises then there is resistance from the syiems, sordars, rangbah shnong et al. The question that arises therefore is – what is the land there for if not to be used for public good? And why is it that land is easily alienated for other commercial purposes and not for social causes?
It is said and oft repeated that the Khasi society is democratic when it comes to decision-making. This means that the views of the residents within any syiemship, sordarship, shnong etc., need to be taken into consideration when taking a decision on crucial matters such as land alienation for public purposes such as construction of a hospital, road projects, schools and other institutions of public importance. There have to be debates and discussions before any decisions are taken that have an impact on the collective. The questions that arise in such cases are whether the syiems, sordars, rangbah shnong consult the people when they decide to sell a water source to a private entity? This has happened even in the Greater Shillong area. Has anyone raised any voice of dissent when a water source that is intended to feed water to the community is overnight converted into a private ownership? Where is that much eulogised Khasi democracy in such a situation?
Meghalaya has a huge number of people that need to be gainfully employed. There are countries and agencies that are ready to invest in the State in clean industries such as the IT sector, food processing etc. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has in 2016 categorised what it calls White category of industries which will not require environmental clearances. White category of industries pertains to those industrial sectors which are practically non-polluting, such as Biscuit trays etc. from rolled PVC sheet (using automatic vacuum forming machines), Cotton and woollen hosiery making (Dry process only without any dying/washing operation), Electric lamp (bulb) and CFL manufacturing by assembling only, Scientific and mathematical instrument manufacturing, Solar power generation through photovoltaic cell, wind power and mini hydel power (less than 25 MW).
The above are industries that are possible for investors to set up but if land continues to be a hurdle then unemployment will soar and we will have a revolution at hand. Meghalaya is a state that cannot even get a landfill for a new waste recovery centre. This speaks a lot about the lack of vision of traditionalists all of whom use their powers arbitrarily and undemocratically.