The NPP-led MDA government has been able to pacify protesters especially the Khasi Students Union, who were dead against creation of land banks when on the final day of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly budget session passed the Meghalaya State Investment Promotion and Facilitation (Amendment) Bill 2025, it decided to delete the controversial section, “creation of land banks through direct purchase of land or other means”.
Opponents had categorised creation of land banks as the first step in alienating the indigenous tribals from their native land and criticised the MSIPF as “draconian and anti-tribal”. The deletion of Sub Section 3 Clause 1 of Section 4 of the amendment bill may have for the time being quelled the opposition but there are remnant sections within the original act that are dissatisfied and would be contentious.
Section 39 of the Act that states, “No suit or legal proceeding shall lie against the Chairman or other members of the Governing Council or High-Powered Committee or State Investment Committee or District Investment Committee or Nodal Agency or any employees of such committee in respect of anything which is done or intended to be done in good faith under this Act or any Rule made there under.”
In the Assembly, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma had said the word “good faith” cannot be decided by anyone except by the court and that the section does not give blanket immunity to anyone in the Governing Council because other laws of the central, state and the Constitution of India can be applied. The section, he said, was to “put a sense of confidence that individuals working in good faith will be given protection” and not to shield an individual in cases of corruption or heinous crimes. One may have faith in the system but the system on many occasions have failed the common man because misuse of laws is often not mere legal aberration but the result of conscious political decisions.
It is also worth pointing out that the “in good faith” clause has the quality of “honesty” in its root definition. Without honesty there cannot be “in good faith”. What then for the common people is the test of “honesty”? Without a doubt “transparency” is the test of “honesty”.
Here is where CM Conrad Sangma’s statement did not take into consideration the thirst for transparency that exists in the common people’s mind. One has already seen that it is not easy for the public to get information about government schemes, dealings and its decision making processes. Even under the RTI many questions remained unanswered. In this particular matter of the Act, we are rather uneasy that RTI queries did not receive due and timely attention. Procrastination in replying to RTI questions, especially on such a burning issue as this, is not a behaviour that can be deemed “in good faith”. Therefore it is urged that the only way to gain the confidence of the people is to take on “transparency” as the religion of the government and ask its officials to worship it as the top priority.
