By Biplab Kr Dey
PHULBARI, Nov 27: The village of Wadagokgre is an example – an example of everything that is wrong with Meghalaya, especially the plains belt of Garo Hills where laws tend to take a massive back seat in the face of acts of a nefarious nature.
The village, which is a certified Archeological Survey of India (ASI) designated site, has been run roughshod owing to illegal settlers as well as rampant mud and stone quarrying – all with the blessing of a Nokma (village headman) and a government more intent on ensuring votes reach them rather than protect what is one of the only historical site in the entire Garo Hills.
Wadagokgre is about 60 km from Tura, the district headquarter of West Garo Hills (WGH) and about 15 km before reaching Phulbari under which PS limits it falls.
A little background to the story of Wadagokgre will show as to why the place is important – at least in the eyes of history buffs.
The ASI had taken up an excavation in the area, and found out that it was one of the biggest cities and also a religious centre, that was cast out of the river Brahmaputra in the fourth century A.D.
This excavation has brought into light that the Wadagokgre township was sprawling with Buddhism and Hinduism, and also a combination of both, which is widely practiced in the area. This ancient township was located on the bank of the river Brahmaputra, which happened to flow from that area almost 2,000 years ago. The entire town was well fortified, and tanks as well as temples built of burnt bricks were also found inside the premises.
The area is known locally as the site of ‘Lengta Raja’ though nature and a rampaging Brahmaputra ensured people moved to other places to survive. The ASI site is under the care of the Arts and Culture Department of the state.
Over the past two-three decades, the dynamics of the place has not only undergone a major change but has now endangered the historical site. While it is not well documented as to how the influx of residents from Assam began, what may have started off on humanitarian grounds has now become a full fledged encroachment into the village of Wadagokgre.
Alarmed by the encroachment, the then deputy commissioner of WGH, Pravin Bakshi has issued prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC in 2016 which still remains in place. While that should have solved the encroachment problem, it remained only on paper as authorities just continued to turn a blind eye to all that was happening.
What is also interesting is that the Arts and Culture Department has employed four contractual employees for the safe-keep of the site but their role is being mere bystanders to what is sure to blow out of proportion. They have been employed since 2016.
The village falls under A’king lands and as such remains protected but that protection has been only on paper. With the first few families that came through due to the annual flooding of the Brahmaputra, the numbers began to grow steadily over the years. As of now, local sources put the number of households at over 350 – up by about 50 since the past 8 years.
“They came to the village on humanitarian grounds as their areas in Assam were damaged due to rising waters. This initial relief suddenly became a permanent situation for those that came into the village. Slowly more lands began to be occupied and the numbers have continued to grow. The local population has completely been overrun,” informed social activist, Peterjob A Sangma after a visit to the area the past week.
What is even more interesting is that these residents now hold all the identification of the state of Meghalaya with the GHADC being ever so compliant to their needs.
The complaint by the activist had led to the Deputy CEM of GHADC, Nikman Marak also visiting and reviewing the situation. However the situation has not changed despite his assurances. The Nokma had been warned then to not resort to such illegal acts in the future, to which he agreed and then later reneged.
However, the reason for the visit by the social activist was completely different. There had been major complaints of the Nokma allowing the lands under his A’king to be used for the illegal drawing of sand gravel as well as stones. The extent of the damage, some said, was turning the area from Garo Hills into Garo plains.
“We were shocked to see the damage that the Nokma has allowed the land to undergo. Not only are permanent houses (new ones) coming up by cutting through the low lying hills, but in most places there are no longer any hills to speak of. All this for just a little bit of money,” added Peter.
The activist mentioned that just about 3 years ago he had raised the matter of illegal quarrying with the district administration as well as the state and GHADC forest departments. Following the complaint, a team comprising all the various departments had visited the area. Seeing the destruction caused, the Nokma was warned and advised to not allow the land to be used in this manner. On the ground the ASI site too had been encroached and damaged.
The latest visit saw excavation work of sand gravel being undertaken by a JCB with at least 5 tractors waiting to be loaded up when the activists reached. This wanton mud piling was once again being undertaken within the ASI site. When asked, the vehicle drivers and helpers stated that permission to mine was provided to them by the Nokma, identified as Balen.
The area in question falls under the restricted Mouza – 3.
“This is insane to say the least. The Nokma needs to be held accountable for what is happening as without his consent this ravaging of our protected lands would not have been possible. What is even worse is that no permission has been taken out for such destruction from any sources – forest, GHADC or the government. How long can we allow the forced destruction of our lands this way, especially in the face of climate change,” asked Peter.
When contacted on the matter, Phulbari forest officials stated that they have continued to ask the Nokma to stop such acts as well as ensure the area around the ASI site was not touched but to no avail.
“We have informed our own authorities and are hoping for action to commence soon. This person (Nokma) has not wanted to listen to us at all and we are worried,” said a source from the Phulbari GHADC range.
CFO of GHADC, Rangkhu Sangma too added that the matter is being taken up and efforts will be made to stop the illegal acts from taking place.
Attempts to seek information on the action taken by the administration remained unfruitful till the writing of this report as the deputy commissioner did not provide a comment. The DC had earlier stated that meetings had been held on the matter and some technicalities were being sorted out. An amount of Rs 1 lakh had also been earmarked for the protection of the ASI site.
What however is noticeable is that the lands being occupied are all being done illegally as has been the mining and quarrying that is taking place.
“It seems no one wants to take action on this important issue despite this being so blatant to everyone. Subsequent governments have continued to turn a blind eye to the issue at hand and some very conniving persons have been taking advantage of the situation. The issue of encroachment and illegal mining has to be addressed hand in hand as these cutting away of the hills is just opening more space for illegal squatters,” felt the social activist.
A thorough investigation on what exactly took place and how protected and tribal lands were occupied in such a way as well as efforts to ensure the area remains protected is the need of the hour, felt Phulbari resident SR Sangma.