Meghalaya Cabinet approves land deal with over 1,200 encroachers’

Shillong, Jun 27 (PTI) The Meghalaya Cabinet Monday approved a land deal with over 1,200 families living illegally on government land for several years, a proposal Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said will be a win-win situation for both the administration and the signatories.

We will sign a long-term lease with over 1,200 households living in Balsrigittim and Warimagre localities of Baghmara. The land ownership will remain with the state government,” Sangma said after the cabinet meeting.

According to the proposal, each family will be allotted not more than 10,000 square feet of land.

The proposal will be a win-win situation for both the government and the people, the CM said.

The situation right now is that these settlers have been staying there for many decades. Eviction would lead to a law-and-order situation. The best way is to keep ownership with the government, which would earn yearly revenue through the long-term lease, he added.