Department of Information and Public Relations

Press Release No. 442/22

RONGJENG SUB DIVISION INAUGURATED

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Friday inaugurated the Rongjeng Civil Sub Division in East Garo Hills in presence of Deputy Speaker Timothy D Shira, MLA Jim Sangma, Thomas A Sangma, Brening Sangma, Rupert Momin and Pongseng Marak. The demand for creation of Rongjeng Civil Sub Division has been pending for over four decades. In 2017, the Administrative Unit was created at Rongjeng, which has been upgraded as Civil Sub Division on Friday vide notification from the Governor. The new Sub Division will have administrative control over Rongjeng C and RD block, with at least 180 plus villages within it.

Speaking on the occasion, local MLA Jim Sangma expressed his gratitude to the Chief Minister for fulfilling the long awaited aspirations of the people. He also lauded the Chief Minister for fulfilling the vision of Lt Purno Sangma, who was a strong advocate for creation of Rongjeng Civil Sub Division. The Chief Minister unveiled the plaque and handed over the notification to new SDO Civil Reuben Momin and congratulated the people of the area for coming out in large numbers to witness the historic day.

Happy to fulfill the long pending needs of the people, the Chief Minister said while dedicating the new subdivision to the people. P.A Sangma had a close connection with the people of Rongjeng. The Government is working with a vision to bring change and progress in the State, he added. It is the endeavour of the MDA government to bring administration closer to the people. We are planning to upgrade many more blocks and sub divisions so that people can avail the services, he added.

Speaking at length on the commitment of the Government to ensure better governance and delivery of services, the Chief Minister recalled statement made by Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat during his recent visit wherein he termed the State as ‘most progressive’ in the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in the country. Other States in the country should learn from Meghalaya, the Minister had said, the Chief Minister told the gathering while explaining the commitment his government has for the people to better their lives. He also informed that Meghalaya has been performing well in different sectors including MGNREGS implementation, where the annual spending has increased to Rs 1600 cr. In comparison to States like Nagaland and Manipur the spending under MGNREGS is about Rs 600 to 700 cr while Meghalaya’s spending has been very high. This is the result of how our government has ensured better implementation of the programme, he added.

Talking elaborately about Focus and Focus plus, the Chief Minister said that the Government has envisioned to ensure financial stability amongst the farming communities and it is the commitment of the government to ensure that the programme continues for the next 10 years.

Press Release No. 443/22

CM CONRAD SANGMA AWARDS LAND PATTA TO MORE THAN 100 TRIBAL HOUSEHOLDS IN RESERVE GITTIM IN WGH

In a historic development, the CEM has transferred Land Ownership rights to Tribal Households of Reserve Gittim village in West Garo Hills. In a Thanksgiving Ceremony organized by the villagers, Chief Minister, Shri Conrad K Sangma, awarded Land Patta to 100 tribal households in the presence of Shri Swapnil Tembe, DC, West Garo Hills and Smt Rikse R Marak, CEO, Tura Development Board and other dignitaries.

Unlike other parts of India, Meghalaya did not have clear land titles. This was due to unique agrarian systems and distinctive social structure. After the reorganization of States and award of Statehood to Meghalaya in 1972, tribals of various parts of Meghalaya have been requesting recognition of their rights over the land. This was considering the rise of modern agriculture, which demanded clear demarcation of land and its ownership. The absence of Land Records and formal documentation further posed a challenge in identifying the rightful owners.

On 19th August 2018, the memorandum was presented to Chief Minister Shri Conrad Sangma requesting him to resolve the challenge faced by people. The task was immediately auctioned and all legal hurdles despite the Covid 19 Pandemic were overcome, achieving the much-needed demarcation. The CEM is all set to award more than 100 land Pattas to tribal beneficiaries who are the rightful owners in recognition of their long-standing demand for rights over the land.

Chief Minister Shri Conrad Sangma said that Right over land is a key to the tribal identity of our people. Hence the transfer of Land Rights to the rightful owners is one of our topmost agendas. In the past four and a half years of our tenure, we have done everything to help the people of Reserve Gittim, we have made legal provisions to award legal rights over land to the tribal people of Meghalaya. Going ahead we plan to help tribal people across the state who are facing similar challenges.

Shri Swapnil Tembe, DC, WGH further added that Settlement process is very important. For every application, bank application, loan application, certificate application, land document is important, so land settlement process is important. There are other areas as such in Tura and the District administration revenue branch is surveying about the problems, enforcement staff, DC revenue staff have been instructed to survey and he thanked the CM for all these. To resolve many problems being faced by the residents of the area different departments such as water, electricity will coordinate with each other

The beneficiaries could not have been happier when asked to comment on the development, one of the beneficiaries, Sharon D Sangma said, In 2018 the CEM started investigation into the matter since they came across many problems because people did not have land pattas, they could not connect pipelines, electricity and could not apply for Caste certificates. We are grateful that CEM, CM supported and helped us acquire these land pattas. I would like to thank our Chief Minister for recognizing our genuine aspiration and giving us legal rights over our land, something that we thought would not have been possible in our lifetime.

Another beneficiary Remsoni Ch Marak added, When we went to offices for loans, we were asked if we have pattas and when we could not provide one, we were told we could not apply for big loans. Now that we have got the pattas we are grateful to everyone.