HYC demands govt to place border report before Assembly

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaDecember 15, 2021

The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) on Wednesday demanded the state government to place a report before the Assembly before deciding to ink the boundary settlement pertaining to the six areas of difference with Assam.

“We have demanded the state government that before it decide to ink the  settlement for the six sectors, to place some sort of a report or recommendations before the state legislative assembly which is the supreme law making authority in our state,” HYC president Robertjune Kharjahrin told reporters after the consultative meeting convened by the state government here.

“This is because we would like to see a united voice among the MLAs in our state. If the government goes ahead without informing the state legislative assembly, there will be some sort of two-three voices and that will further disturbed the fragile situation on the border,” he asserted.

Kharjahrin further informed that the organization has asked the state government to ensure that the aggression on the part of Assam in the form of police brutality and threatening the people living in the border and trying to disturb the law and order should be avoided at any cost as “at the end of the day this border settlement will happen only if the border people accept it but if they don’t accept this exercise will just be a waste of time.”

Urging the need to call for another round of meeting with the stakeholders, the HYC chief said this is necessary to ensure that people know which areas to be part of Assam and those to be part of Meghalaya.

“We do hope that the settlement of the first six areas of difference will give a very good signal to all the other six areas so that we can resolve the boundary dispute once and for all,” he added.

Welcoming the five principles adopted by the two states for resolving the boundary dispute, Kharjahrin however said that the HYC has maintained that Meghalaya should not accept if Assam is trying to impose several constitutional notifications, several laws while trying to settle the boundary dispute.  

“This is because a notification like 1971 notification for transfer of villages from Khasi and Jaintia Hills to Mikir Hills is something we should not accept as that particular notification was done without our consent or wish or consult the leaders of the hill state,” he said.

“We also raise objection to the Assam Reorganization Act, 1969 and also North East Reorganization Act, 1971 because if we allow Assam to bring this notification for settlement of the boundary dispute, it will not be good because this notification is already against our aspiration and is already against our sentiments,” he further stated.