By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Jan 17: The Hynniewtrep National Youth Front wants the state government to do away with the proposal to create a land bank to lease out land to private companies keen on setting up industries in the state.
Speaking to reporters after a demonstration to protest the establishment of the Invest Meghalaya Authority (IMA) here on Thursday, HNYF president Sadon K Blah said the decision of the state government to create the land bank is already in conflict with the Meghalaya Transfer of Land (Regulation) Act, 1971.
The IMA was created under the provisions of the Meghalaya State Investment Promotion and Facilitation (MSIPF) Act, 2024.
Blah said the HYNF would continue to express its displeasure as long as the IMA intends to create a land bank. He added that the land bank concept is a threat to the existing landholding system.
“We have seen media reports that the government is planning to amend Section 34 of the Act. The heading of Section 34 reads power to overwrite other Acts, including custom and usages as per the landholding system. This does not suffice,” he said.
Stating that seeking permission from the KHADC is not an issue here, he said investors in Meghalaya needed to get social impact assessment, environment clearance, forest clearance, and DMR clearance earlier.
“But once the government creates a land back, the existing procedures will be done away with,” Blah said, insisting that the idea should be dropped.
“We need investments or industries in the state. But at the same time, we should continue with the prevailing system of land acquisition,” he said, pointing out that government agencies such as the MIDC and MTDC are already acquiring land.
“The IMA is too aggressive an approach, which is not welcome in the state,” he said.
The HNYF president lamented the silence of the MLAs on the move to lease out land to private companies when the district councils are the custodians of the land and not the state government.
“The Land Transfer Act clearly says that the indigenous people cannot sell their land to non-tribal entities. It is still not clear if the IMA or the state government is a tribal or non-tribal entity,” he said.
Blah reminded the authorities of the cement factories that have exploited the tribal lands in the Jaintia Hills.
He said the members of the HNYF will meet next week to decide on the group’s course of action.
Earlier, the HNYF members held a sit-in near the statue of U Kiang Nangbah opposite Shillong Civil Hospital.
They shouted slogans to condemn the decision of the state government to come up with legislation facilitating the creation of a land bank, implying the power to acquire land to allocate to investors. They claimed the IMA has been made the land acquisition agent for non-tribal entities.
The pressure group said the IMA would harm the state’s tribal community by letting non-local private companies cement their hold.
Protesters were carrying placards with slogans such as “Protect Our Land. Stand Against the MDA Govt”, “Our Land is Our Legal Right”, and “Unity Against Injustice. Rise Against Lease Agreement”.