Guwahati: A high-level tripartite meeting between the Assam government, the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC), and representatives of Karbi civil society groups ended on Friday without resolving the central issue that has driven weeks of tension in West Karbi Anglong: the protection of tribal land from alleged encroachment.
The meeting, convened against the backdrop of the ongoing agitation in Kheroni, brought together leaders of the Karbi Cultural Society (KCS), Karbi Lamet Amei (KLA), senior state officials, and KAAC representatives.
However, activists leading the fast-unto-death protest said their primary demand, eviction of alleged encroachers from the Professional Grazing Reserve (PGR) and Village Grazing Reserve (VGR) land, remained unaddressed.
Social activist Angtong Engti, one of the key faces of the protest, said the discussions failed to offer clarity or assurance to the agitating community.
“Right now, I cannot say much. We need to sit with our people and decide our next course of action,” Engti said after the meeting. “The main issue, eviction from encroached PGR and VGR land, was not taken up.”
Instead, Engti said, the government proposed fencing nearly 8,000 bighas of unencroached PGR–VGR land and relocating government offices from those areas. “That does not address the heart of the problem,” he said. “Our demand is clear: reclaim land that has already been encroached upon.”
He added that the KAAC would file an affidavit before the Gauhati High Court, as directed earlier, regarding the status of PGR and VGR land. “But the real concern of the people remains unresolved,” Engti said, warning that further agitation could follow if the issue is ignored.
The meeting was attended by leaders spearheading the fast-unto-death protest along with office-bearers of the KCS and KLA. However, representatives of several other organisations were absent, reflecting the broader unease surrounding the talks.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the meeting resulted in a series of administrative and legal decisions aimed at resolving the situation through institutional mechanisms.
He said the state government and the KAAC would jointly approach the Gauhati High Court for an early resolution of the PGR–VGR dispute, with the council set to file an affidavit before January 5.
“All government offices located within PGR–VGR areas will be shifted, and vacant PGR–VGR land will be fenced immediately to prevent fresh encroachment,” the Chief Minister said. He also announced that deforestation drives would be carried out in vacant areas.
Sarma added that all trade licences issued over the past five years to establishments operating on PGR and VGR land would be cancelled, and eviction drives would be undertaken against encroachments on government and departmental land, including irrigation department properties.
In a major relief measure, the Chief Minister announced a government job and Rs 10 lakh in ex-gratia assistance for the family of the person killed during police firing in Kheroni. He also said police cases registered against protest leaders would be withdrawn.
Encroachments in Bokolia and other parts of West Karbi Anglong would also be cleared, he added. The next round of talks has been scheduled for January 16 or 17.
The meeting was attended by KAAC Chief Executive Member Tuliram Ronghang, Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister K.K. Dwivedi, senior government officials, and representatives of Karbi organisations.
Despite the government projecting the talks as constructive, protest leaders maintained that the core issue, safeguarding indigenous land rights, remains unresolved, leaving the situation in the hill district fragile and emotionally charged.