Shillong, Jun 26: Nongkrem MLA and Voice of the People Party (VPP) leader Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit today said defended the Regulation and Administration of Land (Amendment) Bill 2026 as an attempt to protect the sale of Raid (community) lands and also to stop over selling.
There are critics who have opposed the bill claiming that it will trample on age-old traditions and strip the Dorbar Shnongs of their power.
Basaiawmoit stated that the objective of the VPP, which holds power in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) is to bring change, end corruption and usher in more transparency.
The party leader said that the passage of this bill will target those traditional chiefs who are used to selling community land for their own benefit.
“We, as a party, stand strong and whatever we are doing is for the interest of the indigenous people,” Basaiawmoit stated, adding that the VPP’s ultimate aim is to give power back to the people, as was the case in traditional Khasi local democratic systems.
He also stated that detractors are alleging that the executive committee (EC) in the KHADC have claimed that the ruling party is trying to dilute the powers of the Dorbar Shnong.
“We are not diluting their powers, but we are against traditional heads who are a danger to the future generations,” Basaiawmoit countered.
The VPP president said that what is being seen nowadays is that hundreds of acres of Raid and Hima land is being sold arbitrarily and sometimes without the knowledge of the citizens.
“The people should know that a deal is being done and lands cannot be sold by the traditional heads alone. The residents should be in the know,” Basaiawmoit added.
The availability of Raid land gives security to the poor since they can be allotted places to build homes. The last census, conducted in 2011, showed that more than three-quarters of the population in Meghalaya is landless. “This was the usual practice of our indigenous people. When did we start to do the opposite?” Basaiawmoit said.
