Meghalaya tribal council opposes border deal with Assam, says govt. needs its consent for handover

The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council said the State has no right over the private land which is to be handed over to Assam

GUWAHATI

A tribal council in Meghalaya has joined the list of individuals and organisations in opposing the State government’s deal with Assam to resolve a 50-year-old boundary dispute.

The Assam and Meghalaya governments had on March 29 finalised the pact to divide 36.79 sq. km of disputed areas. The two governments had taken up six of 12 disputed sectors in the first phase of discussions.

The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) claimed that the dispute areas belong to private parties and the Meghalaya government has neither the authority nor the right to hand them over to Assam.

“The government will be required to take the council’s consent according to Section 41 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, before any handover,” the KHADC’s chief executive member Titosstarwell Chyne said.

The KHADC is one of three tribal councils in Meghalaya created under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Each of them function as a government within a specified territory.

Apart from the KHADC, some traditional institutions such as Hima (a Khasi state) and villagers not keen on being tagged with Assam have threatened to go to court if the Meghalaya government cannot review the boundary deal.