SHILLONG:
The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) has termed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the governments of Meghalaya and Assam to resolve six areas of differences as “illegal”.
“The MoU was drafted without taking the consent of the land owners, traditional institutions and the district council, and hence is illegal and against the customary practices of the indigenous people,” HYC general secretary Roykupar Synrem said in a statement, on April 8.
The statement further read that the Council will never accept the “illegal” document as “it has, to a great extent, affected the tribal lands”.
Earlier on March 29, the Meghalaya and Assam governments had signed the MoU to resolve six out of the 12 areas of difference between the states in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.
Stating that the state government does not own any land in Meghalaya except those it had acquired or donated by the people, Synrem said as per Section 41 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, the state government has to get the consent of the land owner and the district council before acquiring land in tribal areas of the state, which it didn’t while drafting the MoU.
“Does the state government has the authority to give 18.46 sq km of land to Assam without getting the consent of the land owners, traditional institutions and the district council?” he asked.
He also reminded that the Khasi state had merged with India by signing the Instrument of Accession & Annexed Agreement. Accordingly in paragraph 20 of the Sixth Schedule, protection has to been given to tribal lands.
“Now whether the decision of the Meghalaya government to sign the MoU and agreement is against the spirit of the IOA&AA and Sixth Schedule?” he said.
Meanwhile, the HYC has also expressed surprise at the stands of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) partners, which include the BJP, UDP, PDF and HSPDP, to not oppose the MoU and seek review of the agreement.
“The question now is whether the MoU and the agreement have been signed without the consent of the coalition partners of the MDA. Do the coalition partners regretted that the MoU is full of flaws or is it their concerns just an eye wash to fool the people?” he said.
The HYC leader said that the council demands the state government to consider the review of the MoU and the settled agreement.