Shillong, Sep 7: The State government has invited the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) for a fresh round of talks on Tuesday at 4:30 pm at Secretariat Conference Hall, to be chaired by Chief Secretary Dr Shakil P. Ahammed.
This follows Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma’s August 26 meeting with the KSU after days of tension, including the August 19 black flag black rally that led to violence and arrest of four KSU leaders.
The five-point charter discussed included action against officials over the July 31 public hearing for the proposed Shree Cement project in East Jaintia Hills, full implementation of the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act, operationalising facilitation centres at entry points, implementation of the amended Migrant Workmen Act, and reforms in recruitment at NEIGRIHMS.
Following the talks, the Chief Minister described the engagement as “constructive” and said the government had agreed to several steps.
On the Shree Cement issue, Sangma announced that all work at the project site would remain on hold until an independent fact-finding committee, headed by a senior official not linked to the district administration, examines concerns over the public hearing, environmental issues and stakeholder participation.
On the MRSSA, the government said it would expedite registration of people coming from outside the state and was developing a technology-based application to create a centralised database.
For migrant workers, officials informed that rules under the amended Act had been clarified and would be rolled out after orientation of concerned officers.
The government and KSU also agreed to conduct a joint inspection of the Umling Facilitation Centre with the aim of making it operational before Christmas.
After the meeting, the KSU “temporarily” suspended its agitation, but made it clear the decision was conditional on the government fulfilling its assurances.
With several of the issues from the August 26 charter still pending, the government has now called the KSU for a follow-up meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary, to review progress and discuss the way forward.
