Tura, July 14: Tura MDC and BJP leader, Bernard Marak, has expressed his unhappiness over what he termed violations of the provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution by West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner, Jagdish Chelani, after the official allegedly ordered an intrusion into the Leper Colony in Tura without prior information to residents and the concerned Nokma.
In a letter to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, Marak stated that the claim by the administration of the area being ‘government land’ had created an atmosphere of fear.
“Garo Hills is a Sixth Scheduled area where the land belongs to the clan and the rights of the tribals are protected from being exploited by non-tribals. But the DC, representing the state, issued an order to claim over the land, which was not lawfully acquired nor compensated,” said Bernard.
He alleged that the DC issued the order without verifying the documents that were issued by the A’king Nokma to the residents.
“Let me inform you that the earlier DC confirmed that Leper Colony is not a GAD land yet the claim through his officials that Leper Colony was a Government land. I would also like to remind you that it was decided in one of the Monitoring Committee meetings in Delhi that all DCs and SPs posted in Garo Hills should know the ‘Law of the Land’ and be aware of the laws, language and culture of the Garos,” said Marak.
“He may be head of the administration but this is also my GHADC constituency. So I forbid him to intrude into my areas, threatening and creating fear psychosis. Trespassing, provocation, intimidation and attempts to grab land illegally in the Hills will not be tolerated,” stated the Tura MDC.
He then asked the CM to enlighten the DCs and SPs about the restrictions in Sixth Scheduled areas and also remind them that all newly created districts are sealed with the title ‘Hills’ to remind all that the area falls under the Hill Provision of the Hill Tribals.
“State and its departments are general entities, so we are protected from you. The DC violated the ‘Garo’s Law of the Land’, which is the supreme law in Garo Hills. If they cannot honour the law of the land, they should be transferred from Garo Hills immediately as agreed,” felt Marak.
