Shillong, Aug. 9: A conglomerate of social organisations today proposed amendments to the Meghalaya Transfer of Land (Regulation) Act, 1971, to save the state and the indigenous people “from losing their tribal identity and land”.

The Social Organisations of Meghalaya Against Land Alienation (Somala), an umbrella organisation of nine groups, submitted a list of proposals before the joint committee on amending the act at a meeting held at the secretariat and chaired by state revenue minister R.C. Laloo.

Somala comprises the Khasi Students’ Union, Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People, Civil Society Women’s Organisation, Hynniewtrep National Youth Front, Jaintia Students’ Union, Garo Students’ Union, Meghalaya Indigenous People’s Forum, Achik Citizens’ Welfare Organisation and the All India Garo Union.

The groups requested the government to delete Sections 4(1)e and 4(1)f that were inserted in the act by an amendment in 1991. They said these sections were silent about the actual owners of land in the state, who, under Meghalaya’s land holding system, were the indigenous people and not the government. But the above sections were inserted by the government “on its own accord”, as if the land belonged to it. These sections infringe upon the customs, traditions and usage of the people protected by the Sixth Schedule, they added.

Somala said the above sections had opened the door for non-tribals to purchase land in Meghalaya, which was a departure from the inherent character of the act. The above sections also did not permit the indigenous communities or the village chieftains to have any say in the transfer of land, resulting in the government having the liberty to permit alienation of land under these sections.

Somala said the implementation of the sections had been devastating as they had opened the floodgates to the inflow of non-tribals. It said in the last 10 years, the implementation of the two sections had resulted in the loss of a good amount of tribal land to non-tribals. It had also given rise to the emergence of a “new class of landowners” who were from outside and had brought in a huge workforce, leading to an unabated influx that was unprecedented in the last 50 years.

Somala also proposed amendments to Section 2(e) of the act to exclude all Scheduled Tribes, except the indigenous communities of Meghalaya — Khasis, Jaiñtias and Garos — from the purview of the act. This section says “tribal” means a person belonging to any of the Scheduled Tribes pertaining to Meghalaya and and for the purpose of the act shall also include the Rabhas, Kachari (Koch), who are residents of Meghalaya. It said an amendment to Section 2 (e) should read: “Tribal” means a person belonging to the tribes of Meghalaya comprising the Khasis, Jaiñtias and Garos.

KSU president Samuel B. Jyrwa said the government had promised to look into the proposals.