Amid growing concerns over land acquisition policies and sporadic incidents affecting law and order in Meghalaya, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Thursday reaffirmed that the overall situation in the state remains firmly under control. Addressing the media, he emphasized the government’s commitment to transparency and adherence to legal frameworks while also acknowledging public apprehensions regarding recent developments.
“The overall law and order situation is very much under control. There could be individual sporadic incidences that were there, and those will be looked into. Apart from those incidents, the overall situation is very much under control. So there’s nothing to worry about as such, and we’ll continue to keep a monitor on things to ensure that the situation remains under control,” he stated.
Addressing concerns regarding land acquisition, Sangma clarified that discussions were not limited to the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) or other NGOs that had met him recently. “It’s not just about this is the KSU or other NGOs that met me. I mentioned that because they met me two days back, but before that also, many other organizations, individuals, and MLAs from the ruling side have mentioned it to me every time we sit. So this has been an issue that I could understand was creating concerns among the people,” he said. He asserted that there was no question of bypassing land acquisition laws, adding, “We were very clear on it, but because it was a critical issue, we thought we should amend that.”
The Chief Minister outlined the key amendments introduced, emphasizing that the provisions of the Land Transfer Act and regulations set by district councils would remain applicable, alongside opportunities for youth employment. “These are the things which actually go without saying, but in order to give confidence to the people, we thought it’s better. We inserted it in the principal act itself to reassure the people about our commitment and our sincerity on this particular issue,” he said.
Sangma also addressed concerns regarding the Meghalaya Investment Promotion Authority (MIPA) and its role in land acquisition. “There was an issue of a land bank, which we had mentioned, which is something necessary for investments because certain investors may come in and require land to be leased out to them. So we had kept the provision for the Meghalaya Investment Promotion Authority also to act as one of the agencies which could then have a land bank and then lease out as per the Land Transfer Act provisions under that lease out to different investors. But since people had concerns and doubts, we have decided to bring out the Meghalaya Investment Promotion Authority completely from the purview of land acquisition or any kind of land bank creation,” he explained.
Clarifying MIPA’s revised role, the Chief Minister stated, “MIPA will now be a pure policy and agency that will facilitate promotion and will receive the applications and process and the necessary applications and documents to be sent to the respective departments. It will then be coordinated through me. So it will play up your role of only a facilitating agency.”