By H.H.Mohrmen
In 1951, the Assam government had carved out two huge chunks (Block-I and Block-II) from the Jowai sub-division of the then United Khasi and Jaintia Hills district and tagged them with the Mikir Hills Autonomous District (now Karbi Anglong) for administrative advantages. There was a hue and cry against this transfer of land which was based on the recommendation of a Commission except for a lone dissenting voice of u Larsing Khyriem the then MLA from Jowai. Since then the area and the entire interstate border between Assam and Meghalaya has been a bone of contention between the two states. The interstate border has also seen many conflicts and flare-ups which have caused undue hardship to the residents of the area besides creating insecurity among the people of the two neighbouring states.
The conflicts have compelled the two states to meet at various government levels; but the numerous meetings are unproductive and seem to be a total waste of time because the two states are yet to come even close to solving the four decades old dispute. But strange as it may seem, while the Meghalaya government is engaged in a prolonged dialogue with Dispur in resolving the four-decade-old boundary dispute with Assam, there seems to be a silent campaign from the other side in adding a large patch of Ri Bhoi land to the Municipal Corporation Area of Guwahati. During a recent visit to the area, it was found that large patches of land in the villages of Maikhuli, Pillangkata, Nongspung and Umnowe have been taken over (bought at throw-away prices) by tribals from Nagaland and Manipur, which may result in a big change in the demographic fabric of the northern patch of Ri Bhoi district in the coming years. And the demographic change in the areas could also have much serious consequences given the fact that the area is also very close to Guwahati.
The trend is sure to raise many an eye-brow as to how the tribals from other states, who are not “indigenous” tribes of Meghalaya, are being allowed to buy such large patches of land in their own name. There are even reports of Hindi-speaking business communities purchasing huge tracts of land in Kiling area to set up factories. The question here is whether the Meghalaya Land Transfer Act of 1971 allow the “tribals” from other states to buy land in Meghalaya and does the government allow non-tribals to set up factories in tribal land (outside the designated industrial estates?)
Ironically it was also found that all the “secret land deals” in the patch of Ri Bhoi district, which is very close to Guwahati city, has happened in connivance with the Rangbah Shnong of those villages. It could also be that out of sheer ignorance the Rangbah Shnong sold the land for a song and blatantly violated the state Land Transfer Act, but how can the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council allow this illegal transfer of land in broad day light?
It was also learned that the tribals from Nagaland and Manipur managed to “procure” no-objection certificates to buy land in the villages against payment of “donations” to the village councils. And, even the Syiem of Raid Marwet is aware of the unscrupulous land-sale agreements. Interestingly, a section of the “outside” tribals have already constructed palatial houses in their Meghalaya land, and are reaping all the benefits of Guwahati city, because of the proximity of the area to the state capital of Assam. The proximity of the area to Guwahati is what made these people buy large tracts of land in the region and the State Government is happily unaware of this fact or is a conspirator in the crime.
There are reports that some of the “outside” tribal families from Maikhuli village have recently requested the Assam Power Distributions Company Ltd (APDCL) to explore the possibilities of supplying power to them as the power supply by Meghalaya Electricity Company Limited (MeECL) is erratic suffers from low voltage. If this is allowed to continue then a large tract of the hill area will gradually become part of greater Guwahati Munical Corporation and Assam.
Located in the vicinity of Guwahati city, the “outside” tribals, who have no love and affection for Meghalaya, will have no second thoughts about becoming citizens of Assam if they are given additional benefits from the largest state of the northeast. They have invested in land in Meghalaya portion adjacent to Assam for one reason only and that is because it is located close to the city of Guwahati. Assam also has the dubious distinction of being expansionist, and has boundary disputes with all its neighbours, and especially with Meghalaya.
A team of the Urban Affairs Department of Ri Bhoi district had visited Khanapara recently to inspect the site where JW Marriot, a five-star hotel is being built along Meghalaya-Assam boundary. The Guwahati Municipal Development Authority (GMDA) has given the necessary permission to construct the luxury hotel in the area. The hotel is just a stone’s throw away from the “Koinadhora” hillock where Assam Chief Minister’s official residence is located. There were claims in the past that the hillock belonged to Meghalaya, but was given away to Assam as a goodwill gesture to construct a rest house called “Indira Bhavan” in 1976.
Surprisingly, the Khasi Students Union (KSU), the Ri Bhoi Youth Federation (RBYF) and the Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP), the vociferous custodians of the indigenous tribal causes, are also silent over the issue of “secret land deals” in Ri Bhoi district. If they are not aware of the unscrupulous land-sale agreements, will they find out time to visit the villages and take immediate steps to put a stop to such secret land deals which will in the long run render the indigenous people in the area landless?
Also, will the District administration of Ri Bhoi look into the issue, and exercise its power under Section 8 (I) of the Meghalaya Land Transfer Act, and evict the “owners” for “unauthorized possession” of land in the border villages? The issue of “secret land deals” in Ri Bhoi district bordering Guwahati will raise serious questions as Chief Minister Mukul Sangma had promised to “aggressively” engage the Assam government in solving the vexed border dispute by ensuring the transfer of Block I and Block II areas under Karbi Anglong district of the neighbouring state to Meghalaya.
The chief minister told the Assembly last year that his government was seeking the transfer of the disputed blocks to Meghalaya on the basis of commonality and till such time the transfer takes place, the people living in the two areas will be included in all developmental endeavours of the state.
But in spite of the tall promises of developing the areas on the interstate border, the Government has failed to explore the possibility of converting this area and many more border areas adjacent to Guwahati as another urban settlement. The State Government should grab the opportunity and develop these areas at par with Guwahati. Meghalaya cannot stop Guwahati city from growing, but instead of opposing it we should embrace the development and welcome the spreading out of the city to its area. The Government should plan to let the areas near Guwahati grow as the city grows and in the process develop a city of its own on the Meghalaya side of the border. The state should come up with a master plan of the entire stretch of the state’s border with the city and plan things in such a way that Meghalaya too grows as Guwahati grows.
Perhaps Meghalaya should also plan a NOIDA of its own in the area adjacent to Guwahati and if that happens then the Meghalaya extension of Guwahati can also become the state’s access point to the commercial capital of North East India. Considering the fact that we are against the idea of extension of railway lines to our State and our airport still has a long way to go before it could handle big planes, it is in the interest of the Meghalaya to have its commercial capital adjacent to Guwahati. Dr Mukul Sangma can toy with this idea and explore possibilities of including the commercial capital of Meghalaya adjacent to Guwahati as one proposal in the list of smart cities that the State Government proposes to the Central government.
