HT Bureau
DIPHU, Dec 29: A high-level meeting between the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) and agitators demanding eviction of encroachers from Professional Grazing Reserves (PGR) and Village Grazing Reserves (VGR) was held on Monday at the Arboretum-cum-Craft Centre in Matipung, but ended without a breakthrough due to legal constraints.
The meeting, chaired by KAAC Chief Executive Member Tuliram Ronghang, lasted over two and a half hours.
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Addressing the media afterwards, the CEM said the Council agrees in principle that encroachments on PGR and VGR land must be cleared, but a stay order issued by the Gauhati High Court has temporarily stalled the eviction process.
Ronghang said a Division Bench of the High Court has suspended the eviction order issued by the KAAC Principal Secretary, seeking production of original Gazette notifications.
He revealed that Council representatives were sent to Shillong and London for about 15 days in an effort to trace the original documents, but without success.
“It is a crime to submit photocopied documents in court. Since the matter is sub judice, immediate eviction is not legally possible,” the CEM said.
Despite the court-imposed restriction, Ronghang announced a series of administrative steps. He said a formal notification regarding the remaining encroached government land would be issued on Tuesday.
Schools, Anganwadi centres and other government offices currently located on reserve land will be shifted after identification of alternative sites, with a tentative timeframe of 15 days.
He also said the Council intends to cancel trade licences of businesses operating within PGR and VGR areas.
Agitation leader Litsong Rongphar said the movement would continue both legally and socially.
He noted that certain Karbi villages, including Dikreng, would be protected under the Forest Rights framework, but pressure would be maintained on other encroached areas.
“We will fight to prove that the land is PGR and VGR. Notices will be issued to encroachers in Uttar Borbil PGR tomorrow,” Rongphar said, adding that discussions on land and trade licences remained inconclusive.
The meeting was attended by MP Amarsing Tisso; MLAs Darsing Ronghang, Rupsing Teron and Bidyasing Engleng; Karbi traditional king Longsing Ronghang; former KAAC CEM Jotson Bey; and representatives of the KSA, KFA, KNCA and JCCPA.
The next round of talks is scheduled on January 17, when the agitators will meet the Government of Assam, followed by another meeting with the KAAC on January 20.
