Students tear copies of the tenancy bill at the State Central Library in Shillong on Wednesday. Picture by UB Photos

Shillong, Nov. 20: The draft Meghalaya Regulation of Landlords and Verification of Tenants bill was torn to shreds by a section of students who participated in the first-ever public consultation on the bill held here today.

High drama engulfed U Soso Tham auditorium, the venue for the consultation, when students posed questions to members of the ministerial committee headed by community and rural development minister Prestone Tynsong.

The committee has been tasked with the mandate to hold public consultations across the state on the draft bill.

The consultation, which turned into a bedlam, shocked Tynsong and other ministers as a majority of the 400-odd students staged a walkout before tearing upthe draft bill outside.

In chorus, they shouted slogans for the implementation of the inner-line permit (ILP) under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.

After walking out of the auditorium, the students undertook a march via the secretariat to Motphran shouting: “We demand ILP; no ILP, no rest”.

The students rejected the draft document saying there was no mention of the need to address influx.

Students from various colleges in East Khasi Hills district, including North Eastern Hill University (Nehu), joined the public consultation to discuss the nitty-gritties of the draft bill.

The students, some of whom articulately discussed the sections and clauses of the draft bill, threw a volley of questions at the committee.

“The draft bill, if implemented, will not check influx, but will only harass the citizens of the state and legalise outsiders who want to stay in the state,” Robert J. Kharjahrin, a law student from Nehu, pointed out, drawing loud applause.

He said the students had expected the draft bill to also talk about influx since chief minister Mukul Sangma had repeatedly claimed that the proposed law would be stronger than the ILP as far as tackling influx was concerned.

“If the government was interested in discussing this draft bill with the public, why not hold similar consultations with the students on the need to introduce an education policy, which the state is yet to have?” he argued.

As the discussion appeared to go out of control, the committee members tried to calm the house and clarified that their duty was to solicit views and opinions before they were incorporated into the bill.

While opposing the bill, a majority of the students said that if the government was serious in addressing influx, it should enact another law by incorporating the spirit of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.

However, the brighter side of today’s deliberations was that the government could take the students’ anger in a positive way and inculcate mechanisms to address the problem of influx.

The students even asked the government to produce documents to prove that the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873 has been repealed from the Garo hills.

“If Mizoram, with ILP, can develop and progress, as has been praised by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, it only shows that the government has a hidden agenda for refusing to introduce ILP in Meghalaya,” Phrangsngi Pyrtuh, a student of Shillong College, said.

The students pointed out the flaws in the draft bills saying the power of dorbar shnongs (village councils) would be undermined since the local authorities, as per the bill, have to seek permission from the district task force for verifying the credentials of tenants. At present, headmen can exercise their powers without any restriction.

The students also questioned the government for exempting houses or rental units owned by the central or state governments from the purview of the draft bill, saying people who stay in such housing units should also be regulated.

The agitated students further said that indigenous people of the state could not be classed as tenants along with people from outside where they have to swear an affidavit.

“I am a student residing in Shillong as a tenant for pursuing my studies. Being a Khasi and belonging to the indigenous tribe of the state, I cannot be classed as a tenant in my own land along with people from outside and apply for an affidavit,” a student from Pynursla village said.

Another college student, Kyntiew, said the government should listen to the voices of the people demanding strong mechanisms to check influx.

The students further demanded that since a majority of them had rejected the draft bill, the government should rethink and come out with a law that will help tackle influx.

Talking to reporters after the consultation, Tynsong said, the ministerial committee still had a long way to go and would continue with the consultation process with different sections of people in other parts of the state.

“Let us see till we complete the process,” Tynsong said while refusing to comment on the walkout by the students.

Asked if the draft bill had misled students on the issue of influx, Tynsong said: “It is not a question of misleading, but expressing their views.” The committee is yet to decide on the next consultation.