Jowai(Meghalaya), June 2: A high-level meeting at the Assam Police Camp today resolved the long-standing cultivation dispute in the Lapangap area of difference, with both sides agreeing to permit farming while deferring boundary demarcation to the state-level committee.
It was decided that villagers of Lapangap shall continue paddy cultivation in the foothills, and those of Tahpat shall carry on with seasonal crops such as banana, pineapple and ginger upon the hilltops and slopes. Both governments underscored the need to preserve peace and refrain from any action that might vitiate law and order.
The deliberations, convened following recent talks between the Chief Ministers of Assam and Meghalaya, brought together KAAC CEM Tuliram Ronghang, MP Amarsing Tisso and senior Assam officials, alongside Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar, Principal Secretary Frederick Kharkongor and district authorities of West Jaintia Hills.
Officials recalled that a meeting of village representatives on May 18 had ended inconclusively over the nature of plantations. Today’s consensus, they said, reaffirms the commitment of both states to settle differences through dialogue and safeguard the interests of local communities.
