Shillong, April 7: Acting as a ‘messiah’ and to ‘listen’ to the grievance of the locals who are not satisfied with the boundary settlement between Assam and Meghalaya, Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Dr. Mukul Sangma on Wednesday personally visited two villages– Mawiong and Maikhuli village, in the interstate border of Meghalaya and Assam.

Meghalaya and Assam signed the Memorandum of Understand (MoU) in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the final settlement of six of 12 areas of difference under the first phase, a move aimed at resolving all interstate boundary disputes between the two states.

Speaking to the media persons after the meeting with the locals of Mawiong and Maikhuli village, the AITC leader expressed his deep concern that the MoU was signed without the consent of the local residents and the final decision for settlement of border dispute was taken only by the Chief Ministers of Meghalaya and Assam, and the locals are strongly opposed to the fact that even the land of Meghalaya will be given to Assam.

He also informed that he wanted to visit these border villages of Meghalaya to seek the opinion and the feeling of the local residents on the reasons they are not happy with the performance of the Regional Committee being set up by the Meghalaya government for verifying the land disputes.

“It is a matter of great concern that the local residents in the border area which falls under Raid Marwet of Hima Mylliem were forced to voice their concern as they are not satisfied at all with the border settlement being carried out at the Chief Ministerial level,” said Dr. Sangma, adding that he also wondered as to how most of Meghalaya’s land as per land documents was concluded to be the territory of Assam without the consent of land owners and local residents.

He also said that during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya, the government was not in a hurry to settle the boundary dispute between the two states as the government has to verify land documents and historical background. He informed that verified land documents were submitted in 2011 to the government of Meghalaya, but this time under the chief ministers of Meghalaya and Assam the final decision was taken without the consent of the local residents and was not based on the land documents and historical background.

Conrad a puppet of Assam CM

He further added that it was a matter of joke that in this boundary settlement the land was shared 50-50% between Assam and Meghalaya but the land with an area of 36 square kilometer in six areas of difference had mostly gone to Assam as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya was only ‘the puppet of Assam Chief Minister’.

He further added that border settlement between Assam and Meghalaya was not to please someone for their vested interest and the duty of the government is to properly verify the land as per the land documents and historical background, so that this border settlement will be successfully solved.