Shillong, Jun 24: The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) has come out sharply against the state government’s proposal to repurpose the ‘facilitation centre’ at Umling, Ri Bhoi District, for commercial use as a food court, saying the decision dilutes safeguards meant to check influx.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, KSU general secretary Reuben A Najiar said the Union was informed through media reports that the government plans to lease the site to chains like KFC, Starbucks, Subway and others.
“The Union does not oppose such food companies setting up in the state, but not at the facilitation centre,” Najiar clarified.
The Umling facility was created under the Meghalaya Residents Safety & Security Act, 2016 to record and monitor the movement of people entering Meghalaya from other states.
Najiar recalled that MRSSA was enacted after KSU’s large-scale ILP agitation in 2013-14, when the then Mukul Sangma-led government pledged “comprehensive mechanisms” to regulate illegal entry while the ILP demand remained with the Centre.
He noted that while MRSSA falls short of ILP in protecting indigenous communities, it provides for entry/exit points akin to ILP and was meant to be a precursor until a stronger law was in place.
The Union also flagged the 2019 amendment to MRSSA, which was passed, according to Najiar, “through some organizations acting at the behest of MLAs and Ministers who did not understand the purpose of the MRSSA,” and without the 2016 Act being fully operationalized.
The matter went to the High Court, which stayed the centre’s functioning after government counsel could not adequately justify its rationale.
“Even after the High Court ruling, the government did not appeal against it but remained silent because it did not want to implement the MRSSA,” he alleged.
Questioning the government’s intent, Najiar said the KSU “puts a question mark on the Meghalaya government as to whether it is concerned at all about the peace and security of the people and about protecting the indigenous community from influx.”
He warned that without effective checks, Meghalaya could face a demographic shift similar to Tripura, where the Tripuris were reduced to a minority.
He pointed out that MRSSA has remained unimplemented for a decade and that amendments to the Meghalaya Identification, Registration (Safety & Security) of Migrant Workers Act, 2020, made in 2024, are yet to come into force.
Drawing a contrast with neighboring states, Najiar said “the Assam Government is vigorously deporting illegal Muslim settlers in Assam, and the West Bengal Government is doing the same. Now even Arunachal Pradesh and other states have started following these deportations of outsiders. But in Meghalaya, things have gone topsy-turvy.”
He asked why only KSU and a few organizations are left to monitor outsiders, adding, “Where are the government departments that are supposed to do this? Why can’t the Government take responsibility on the issue of influx and on any issues related to protecting its people?”
The Union stressed that with deportation drives in Assam and West Bengal, Meghalaya risks becoming a transit and settlement point for those displaced. Functional facilitation centres are also critical, Najiar said, to curb drug trafficking and strengthen overall border management.
Through the statement, KSU “strongly warns the government not to convert the facilitation centre into a food court and to implement the MRSSA, 2016 immediately, if it truly cares for the people of the state.”
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