With opposition from people living along the disputed border to the deal struck between Meghalaya and Assam getting louder, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong rather blithely dismissed the concerns of residents of a Ri-Bhoi village that their fish pond will go to the neighbouring state.
“If you are so concerned about a fish pond, which is not even 25,000 square feet, how will we resolve the problem?” Tynsong told reporters today.
The residents of Maikhuli are livid that the fish pond, on which they rely for income, is slated to be transferred to the jurisdiction of Assam. Pressure groups have also jumped on the bandwagon to oppose this and other cases of land that people want to be part of Meghalaya now being included in Assam.
The deal struck by the two states covers more than 36 square kilometres of disputed territory, with it split roughly in half between Meghalaya and Assam under the agreement signed last week. To put the size of the pond (assuming Tynsong’s figure is correct) into context, 25,000 square feet is 0.002 sq km but, to the residents of Maikhuli, the size is not important.
Tynsong denied allegations that the regional committee that he headed to look into the disputes in Ri-Bhoi did not do its job properly. Instead, both governments were accommodating to the positions of the other and sought for compromise.
“The spirit was that, if there are any differences, we should sit and make some adjustments as we cannot say that an entire area belongs to Assam or to Meghalaya,” he said while warning that the public are being misled on the subject.
Referring to Maikhuli, Tynsong stated that a graveyard of 8 acres was used by the people of Meghalaya before but it is claimed by Assam and this has been conceded to the neighbouring state as the villagers no longer use the site.
He said that if both states do not resolve this dispute now, the problem will linger for another 50 years. Although the agreement was signed between the two CMs in front of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the process is still far from over, as the Survey of India needs to properly demarcate the border before parliamentary ratification.
The six areas of difference settled under this deal are considered to be the less contentious of the total of 12.
Tynsong admitted that the second phase of discussions with Assam will be tough but he stated that there is no dispute concerning Block I and II, as these are lands that properly belong to Meghalaya. Even so, the Deputy CM said that the state is quite willing to make concessions and not demand all the land back.
Meanwhile, referring to the recent incident in Jatalong village, Tynsong said that the case of assault on two Khasi youths was down to a personal disagreement and was not communal in nature.
