SHILLONG: April 10 2022 (PTI Source)
The three villages that K P Pangniang, the president of HSPDP, has claimed no longer appear in the list of locations granted to Meghalaya as part of the pact signed by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and his Assam counterpart to end conflicts along the inter-state border.
The People’s Democratic Party of the Hill (HSPDP), a supporter of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA), said that villages had been “redistributed” to Assam against the residents’ wishes.
According to the leader of the HSPDP, a regional organization with two MLAs in the 60-member House, three villages - Joypur, Salbari, and Huwapara - have been “unwillingly excluded” from Meghalaya despite residents openly expressing their desire to remain a part of the state.
Pangniang said he would bring up the issue at the next MDA meeting.
As per the March agreement, Assam will receive 18.46 square kilometres, and Meghalaya will get 18.33 square kilometres of land from the 36.79-square-kilometre area to be resolved in the first phase.
Previously, the TMC, the most significant opposition party in Meghalaya, had charged that the state government “donated” large areas of tribal land near the interstate border to Assam against their wishes.
Local authorities in Jaintia Hills had also expressed concern over the prospect of their communities being “given away” to Assam.
As per the March agreement, Assam will receive 18.46 square kilometres, and Meghalaya will get 18.33 square kilometres of land from the 36.79-square-kilometre area to be resolved in the first phase. However, the HSPDP chief’s claim suggests that three villages have been “unwillingly excluded” from Meghalaya, meaning that the state may have lost some land due to the agreement. This could potentially reignite tensions between the two states over the issue of citizenship and border disputes.
The HSPDP chief’s claim comes amid a fresh row over the contentious issue of citizenship in Assam, with the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seeking to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Meghalaya. The party has said that it will push for the inclusion of Meghalaya in the NRC update process that is currently underway in Assam.
However, Conrad Sangma has ruled out any possibility of implementing the NRC in his state, saying there was no need for such an exercise as “not an inch” of land had been lost to Bangladeshis. Assam is set to release its updated NRC on June 30.
In light of the HSPDP chief’s claim, it remains to be seen whether or not the NRC issue will be used as a bargaining tool by the BJP to try and get Meghalaya to give up some of its lands. It is also unclear how the HSPDP’s claim will affect the existing agreement between Assam and Meghalaya.