SHILLONG, July 1: The Meghalaya government’s move to push railway projects in the state in consultations with various stakeholders is likely to come a cropper.
The KSU on Tuesday asked the government not to invite it for any talks on the railway issue. The union had earlier spearheaded the anti-railway protests.
KSU general secretary Donald Thabah said the union stands opposed to the introduction of railways in the state without any measures to check influx. There is an apprehension that the local indigenous people will become a minority if railway is introduced without putting in place a mechanism to protect their interests. “The government should not call us for a discussion on railways as we are against it,” Thabah said.
The state government had constituted a committee about three months ago to discuss the railway issue but it received a lukewarm response. The committee wanted to discuss the issue with the political parties, followed by consultations with other stakeholders.
Thabah demanded the implementation of the principal act of the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA) in letter and spirit with facilitation centres and entry and exit gates.
He said the state should implement Inner Line Permit (ILP) as well as MRSSA to protect the indigenous communities. He lamented that the Centre has not granted ILP to Meghalaya despite the KSU submitting several memorandums to the Ministry of Home Affairs seeking its implementation.
Asked about legal challenges considering that people travel through Meghalaya, Thabah cited Nagaland. He said people travelling from Manipur to other parts of the country pass through Nagaland which is protected by ILP.
“These modalities can be sorted out for people using our state as a transit route,” he said.
To a query, he said indigenous Khasi people are becoming a minority in many scheduled areas of Shillong.
