A general public meeting was held on Saturday at Pedaldoba regarding the controversy over the sale of B Mahal lands.
The meeting was called by the Save B Mahal Committee, with over 1,000 members of the public and representatives of local pressure groups, civil groups and A’king Nokma in attendance.
NAS president Tengrak Marak said that the state government led by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma is failing to look after indigenous land.
He reiterated that the B Mahal area is under the custodianship of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) but is not owned by it and, therefore, the council cannot make a decision to sell the land without the consent of the people.
As the land was traditionally occupied by tribal people, speakers at the meeting demanded that the sale be cancelled. Retired NEHU professor, PG Momin, stated that, if the sale is not withdrawn, the CM should be removed from his position, calling it a betrayal of the dreams of Conrad’s father, the late Purno A Sangma.
