As land in Meghalaya is held under the custodianship of traditional leaders, clans, etc, it cannot be simply handed over to another state without their consent, Jaiaw MDC Paul Lyngdoh has said on the controversial border deal struck between Meghalaya and Assam.
There has been a hue and cry over the agreement, with many traditional leaders saying that they had not been properly consulted and that the deal goes against the will of the people. The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) is also planning to challenge the validity of the deal, signed by the Chief Minister of the two states at the end of March, in court.
A member of the KHADC, Lyngdoh, of the United Democratic Party (UDP) said that land is a subject covered under Paragraph 3 of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
“When it comes to land, we have to understand that the state of Meghalaya is not like Assam because in Assam land belongs to the government while in our state the boundaries of the state are defined as per the boundaries of the Himas and even the traditional heads are just custodians of the lands,” he told a few reporters yesterday.
According to the Sixth Schedule, land is the subject of the district councils that have the Elaka Departments and all the traditional heads, traditional institutions and the Dorbar Shnongs are under the lookout of the Elaka Department, he added and, therefore, an agreement between the states without the consent of the traditional institutions is unacceptable.
The MDC recounted a court case from two years ago when Assam tried to claim ownership of land falling under Hima Nongspung. “When the landowner approached the Supreme Court, it confirmed that, as per the land documents, it falls under Hima Nongspung and therefore under Meghalaya,” Lyngdoh explained.
He said that the state government bypassed a report of the regional committees instituted by the KHADC and this jeopardises the boundary settlement because it was signed without due diligence or consultation.
“There was no consultation or meeting and we were taken by surprise and the MoU signed is highly debatable because land is the subject of the ADCs,” he said.
Crucial subjects like mining of uranium, infiltration and the Citizenship Amendment Act are not only for the cabinet to decide on but should be taken to a meeting of the whole Meghalaya Democratic Alliance, of which the UDP is a member.
When asked when will the UDP launch a formal demand concerning the boundary agreement, Lyngdoh said, “The KHADC has prepared its petition to the court and once this is moved forward it becomes the official stand of the UDP because the subject of land is under the KHADC Elaka Department and the Revenue Department of the state government and if the two were sidelined then this is already erroneous.”
