By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Aug 1: The Meghalaya government is weighing options to address the influx fears triggered by the eviction drives in neighbouring Assam.
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong on Friday indicated that the government could either revisit the Meghalaya Residents’ Safety and Security Act or introduce a new Bill.
He said the government has strengthened the checkpoints with additional manpower and round-the-clock vigilance.
“We have also asked all the contractors to make sure that their interstate migrant labourers possess all documents before coming to Meghalaya to work,” Tynsong said, adding that the infiltration department has been directed to verify the papers of such labourers working at different sites.
Asked about the accusation of the Leader of the Opposition, Mukul Sangma, that the government is lying about implementing the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system, Tynsong said the MDA government was the first to adopt a resolution for ILP.
“When he (Mukul Sangma) was the Chief Minister, he did not even have the intent to implement the ILP in the state,” he said.
When asked about the Centre’s silence on the matter, Tynsong said that the state government has raised the issue 10-15 times a year. “They (Centre) said that the demands of ILP and the inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule are under examination,” the Deputy CM said.
Tynsong denied reports that the Centre asked the state to choose between the ILP and the Sixth Schedule as a mechanism to protect the indigenous people from the influx.
“The state has not been given such an option as the ILP and Sixth Schedule are two different issues,” he said.
