Shillong, Jul 3: The banned Hynñiewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) has questioned the passing of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District (Regulation and Administration of Land) (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and said there is no landlessness among the Khasis.
The amendment bill was passed recently by the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) to stop sale of community land (Jaka Raid) in order that such land can be utilised for the interest of the poor and landless people.
“For generations our people have lived, cultivated, and inherited rights over Raid and Hima land through customary institutions and community ownership rather than colonial-style private titles,” HNLC general secretary Saiñkupar Nongtraw said in a statement issued to the media today.
Nongtraw also disagreed with the stand taken made by VPP president Ardent M. Basaïawmoit who cited the 2011 Socio Economic Census (SECC) which stated that around 76 percent households in Meghalaya own no private land.
He added, “If 76 per cent of households in Meghalaya truly own no land, it is worth asking why 88.5 per cent of rural households in this State own the very houses they live in. A household cannot build and own a house on land it does not occupy.”
Rejecting the stand of the KHADC that the amendment bill was brought to prevent sale and transfer of community land by the traditional heads, the HNLC said that the KHADC instead should have created a system to record every land transaction in a transparent public registry.
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“Every Syiem, Rangbah Shnong and public official found abusing community land should answer before an independent tribunal or the District Council Court,” the banned outfit said.
The HNLC said that the land amendment bill of the KHADC does not address the real causes of land insecurity. It also said through the bill, the KHADC aims to take over authority on land governance from traditional heads.
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Urging the Executive Committee of KHADC to immediately withdraw the land amendment bill, the HNLC said, “Should the Executive Committee refuse to do so, the Governor of Meghalaya must withhold assent in order to protect the customary land rights guaranteed under the Sixth Schedule.”
