Guwahati: The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) has asked the Meghalaya government to immediately enforce the Inner Line Permit (ILP) and the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA), warning that it may be compelled to adopt its own lawful measures to safeguard indigenous communities if there is no progress.
The demands were placed before Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma during a meeting with the union’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) on Wednesday. The delegation also submitted a 20-point charter that was adopted during the induction of the new CEC on June 6.
KSU president Raymond Kharjana said after the meeting that the introduction of the ILP remains the organisation’s highest priority.
According to him, the Chief Minister informed the delegation that the proposal seeking ILP for Meghalaya is still pending with the Centre and assured the union that the matter would continue to be pursued with the Union government.
The union also urged the government to fully operationalise the MRSSA by establishing entry and exit checkpoints to monitor the movement of people entering the state.
Kharjana opposed any proposal to convert facilitation centres created under the Act into food courts, saying the facilities were established to strengthen monitoring under the MRSSA and should continue to serve that purpose.
He said several provisions of the Act remain unenforced even after eight years of its enactment.
The meeting also reviewed the Meghalaya Identification, Registration (Safety & Security) of Migrant Workers Act, 2020. During the discussions, the KSU reiterated its earlier recommendations for strengthening the verification process for migrant workers through suitable amendments.
Kharjana said the union has repeatedly received assurances that the ILP, MRSSA and the Migrant Workers Act would be implemented, but maintained that no effective legal framework has yet been put in place to regulate the inflow of people from outside Meghalaya.
He said the union would be forced to examine other lawful options if the government continued to delay action on these issues.
Kharjana added that the Chief Minister indicated some of the demands could be addressed in the coming weeks, while others would require further discussions with the government.
On the question of a fresh deadline, he said the issue had gone beyond setting timelines, adding that the demands have remained pending for years and that the KSU would consider alternative legal measures if the existing laws are not implemented.