By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 30: The Hynniewtrep National Youth Front (HNYF) has demanded that the NPP-led MDA 2.0 Government should immediately revoke all government land allocations in the Polo area, alleging that valuable public land has been handed over to private non-tribal entities in violation of existing laws.
In a letter addressed to Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Lahkmen Rymbui, HNYF general secretary Tyllibbor Swer expressed concern over the alleged allocation of government land stretching from Polo Orchid up to Saw Furlong and beyond, as well as similar cases in Rilbong, where land has reportedly been allotted to non-tribal groups under the guise of trusts.
Swer stated that the lands in question are government-owned, as confirmed by court rulings, yet they have been fenced off and transferred to individuals with political and bureaucratic connections. “The deprived are finding it difficult to get land for a homestead, while the government is being generous to politicians, bureaucrats, and business tycoons,” Swer said.
He cited the Office Memorandum dated June 24, 1998, which clearly prohibits the transfer of government land to private or institutional entities, except for public utility purposes.
“Despite this, certain officers and politicians, who are supposed to be custodians of government land, have been involved in secretly transferring it to powerful business figures—mostly non-tribals,” the HNYF leader alleged.
It may be recalled that the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) earlier had also raised similar concerns, warning that it may soon make public the names of influential businesspersons who have allegedly benefitted from government land allotments in the Polo area.
KSU president Lambokstarwell Marngar had said the Union has been pursuing the issue since December 2024, after filing an RTI application with the Revenue Department. However, he said, the department has failed to provide clear or satisfactory responses.
According to Marngar, the fenced land in Polo—currently covered with blue sheets—had earlier been the subject of a legal dispute between a local clan and the government, with the court ultimately ruling that the land belonged to the government.
