The status of the West Jaintia Hills village of Mukroh, particularly Assam’s recent claims to it, played a large part in today’s proceedings in the Meghalaya Assembly here.
Chief minister Conrad K Sangma stated during question hour that Mukroh unequivocally belongs to Meghalaya.
North Shillong MLA Adelbert Nongrum had questioned the CM if Mukroh falls under Meghalaya or Assam since there has been a lot of debate over this village.
Mukroh was the site of a massacre in November last year when Assam police crossed the border and shot dead five villagers and one of their own forest guards after a confrontation with locals. Recently, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed the village for Assam, though it was never before among the disputed areas between the states.
Bureaucratically speaking, there is much proof that the village is part of Meghalaya.
Sangma informed that Mukroh’s census code (279192) puts it within West Jaintia Hills; it is listed as having a village employment council under MGNREGA in Laskein block with 502 job card holders; the recent state Assembly elections were held there with Mukroh falling under Mowkaiaw constituency; there are over 2,000 ration card beneficiaries there registered with the Meghalaya government; and that it has various Meghalaya government infrastructure, such as a health sub-centre and state lower primary school.
Mowkaiaw MLA, Nujorki Sungoh, questioned whether the police outpost, meant to be set up after the November massacre, has started functioning and Sangma replied that sanction has been provided and arrangements have been made for a temporary facility for now.
To the ire of villagers, Assam has a forest check gate in the area and the people have demanded that it be removed. The Assam police and forest officials had entered Meghalaya on that fateful day chasing after a truck they claimed was transporting timber illegally.
“What steps has the government taken relating to this demand (to remove the check gate)?” asked Sungoh.
Sangma said that since this particular incident is under the commission of inquiry it is not possible to take up the matter right now. “Shifting of this gate is very much within the inquiry commission’s mandate because these are the circumstances under which the incident took place. Inquiry commission is going on right now so let them complete their inquiry first,” he said.
