SHILLONG, Aug 14: The Hynniewtrep Border Dispute Redressal Forum (HBDRF) on Thursday submitted a representation to Chief Secretary DP Wahlang pressing for the immediate inclusion and recognition of villages under Elaka Labang Nangphyllut in Block-I across all state departments and for electoral purposes.
HBDRF spokesperson and KHNAM leader, Thomas Passah said the demand pertains to villages listed in annexure “C” of the Joint Enquiry Proceedings conducted between the United Khasi and Jaintia Hills District Council and the United Cachar and Mikirs Hills District Council from February 17 to 23, 1958, following Assam Government Notification No. TAD/GA/83/50 dated November 5, 1957.
The Forum pointed out that the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) has already reunited and formally notified the Elaka, appointed an Acting Dolloi, Prolin Samayang, and issued ‘sanads’ (certificates) to the headmen concerned through a notification dated June 27, 2024, under Section 26 of the 2015 Act governing the establishment of Elaka, villages, elections, appointments, powers and jurisdiction of Dolloi, Sirdar and Waheh Chnong. The Dolloiship of Labang Nangphyllut comprises Raij Nongjrong, Raij Labang and Raij Nangphyllut, and its traditional jurisdiction is recognised under the JHADC framework.
Despite what the Forum described as clear historical, legal and administrative foundations, supported by official maps and boundary demarcations approved during the Joint Enquiry, the villages remain excluded from the governance, development and electoral systems of Meghalaya. This, it said, has resulted in the denial of basic services and infrastructure, disenfranchisement, exclusion from census records, neglect in welfare schemes and programmes, and the erosion of traditional institutions and legitimate administrative authority.
Calling the situation unfair and untenable, the Forum urged the government to issue a formal notification recognising the villages as part of Meghalaya’s jurisdiction in line with the Joint Enquiry’s findings, to direct electoral authorities to map and include the villages in appropriate Legislative Assembly constituencies with polling stations where required, and to ensure that all relevant departments incorporate these villages in their official records. It stressed that the matter was not an administrative formality but a question of historical correction, legal duty and justice for the indigenous communities who have been part of the state’s cultural and traditional landscape for decades.
The Forum expressed its readiness to cooperate with any verification, documentation or inspection the government may require, and appealed for urgent action to resolve what it termed a long-standing injustice.
