SHILLONG, March 4: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Tuesday mocked the past regimes for avoiding discussion on the Assam-Meghalaya border dispute, leaving it to the MDA government to resolve the issue in six out of the 12 areas of contention.
Citing the example of Tarabari, resolved in the first phase, he said that the Assam government backed off from the area following the signing of the memorandum of understanding in 2023.
Sangma said the government would leave no stone unturned to ensure that people staying along the resolved and unresolved disputed areas remain safe.
He asked MLAs to approach him whenever any situation arises in these disputed areas along the border with Assam.
Informing the House that manpower and infrastructure have been sanctioned for border outposts, he said the BOPs have not been constructed in some locations as villagers want them to be set up in specific locations.
Sangma said that an amount of Rs 16 crore was sanctioned in 2020-21 under the BADP while the state government sanctioned more than Rs 50 crore under the PWD. He assured that the remaining amount of Rs 25 crore under BADP and another Rs 20 crore would be sanctioned within this year.
The CM informed the House that the Ministry of Home Affairs conveyed to Meghalaya earlier that the BADP would continue till September 2022 and review thereafter. “No communication has come from the Centre,” he said.
He assured the House that he would ask the Centre to include Meghalaya under the Vibrant Village Programme. The border areas of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh have been included in this programme so far.
Earlier, members of the Assembly highlighted the plight of border residents amidst the Centre’s decision to stop the Border Area Development Programme (BADP).
Nongpoh MLA Mayralborn Syiem moved a motion to discuss the ways forward to address the issues regarding the infrastructure and to allocate more funds under the Inter-State BADP or ISBADP.
Participating in the motion, Mawkyrwat MLA Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar said the government must build roads in the six areas of difference with Assam which were resolved.
He also pointed out that villages within 10 km of the international border have been getting funds under the BADP since 2018. Villages within 20 km of the international border were eligible for the funds earlier.
Mawhati MLA Charles Marngar urged the government to allocate more funds under the ISBADP besides ensuring the re-implementation of BADP.
Jirang MLA Sosthenes Sohtun said people in the border areas do not tend to register their land due to high land registration fees and urged the government to reduce them.
Some members pointed out that the border haats along the border with Bangladesh have been closed following the political upheavals in the neighbouring country and this has affected the livelihoods of the border residents.
