TURA, May 26: A survey to demarcate the Tura peak catchment area and the Akhinglands was carried out under the initiative of Tura MDC and BJP vice president Bernard N Marak along with officials from GHADC, the Forest department (Territorial), Akhing Nokmas, the representatives of Danakgre Akhing, Megonggre Akhing, and Boldorenggre Akhing.
During the survey, the team visited the source of the Gandrak stream in Tura, which is the boundary of Danakgre, Megonggre Akhings, and the catchment area.
“The source of Gandrak stream dried up due to massive deforestation and jhumming over the catchment area. The GHADC looked after the catchment area before Meghalaya’s statehood, but after statehood, the state Forest department took over the responsibility to manage the forest. However, GHADC did not find any notification of the handover when asked in the session. Moreover, the state Forest department erected pillars in the Akhingland without the permission of the Nokmas and GHADC. The catchment areas in Tura were not acquired under British rule or during the Assam Forest Regulation Act. Garo Hills was declared a Scheduled area under the provisions of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution after independence, and Assam handed over all departments to GHADC,” the Tura MDC said in a release following the visit.
According to Bernard, since the state was formed 20 years after the GHADC, the catchment areas and most departments fall under GHADC’s jurisdiction, not the state’s.
“There is no official handover of the departments. Furthermore, in the last 50 years, the massive deforestation could not be checked, and most water sources are drying up alarmingly. Therefore, GHADC should take up the responsibility to protect the water sources as it is its duty.
The state should not forget that the Garo Hills is a Sixth Scheduled area, and the state is a general entity, as are its departments,” Bernard said, adding that its role is confined to the government.
Meanwhile, in a separate release, the Tura MDC sought the issuance of the Tribal Certificate to scheduled tribes residing in the Garo Hills as well as the registration of births and deaths by the GHADC. In his letter to the GHADC Secretary, Bernard pointed out that the residents of the Garo Hills were forced to use Caste Certificates issued by the Deputy Commissioner as their certificates for many years and urged the GHADC to issue the same since it falls under its jurisdiction.
