Tura, July 30: Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Thursday distributed land documents to 25 families in Chinap A’slang, Tura, bringing legal ownership to residents who have lived for years without security of tenure.
The ceremony at Chinap A’slang Community Hall marked a key step in the government’s land settlement drive in Tura town. Beneficiaries who spoke at the event described years of struggles — being turned away at government offices for welfare schemes and caste certificates, facing rejection at banks for loans, and running into hurdles for electricity and water connections. Many said the land papers would finally restore their dignity and social security.
“Many families have settled at Chinap A’slang through years of uncertainty, without any land document. Lacking ownership causes legal insecurity, financial exclusion and vulnerability to eviction,” the Chief Minister said. “For the families receiving the land documents this afternoon, that fear and insecurity end today.”
He informed that the settlement covers eight localities and 754 households in Tura town. As of now, 210 households have deposited the premium, up from just 42 in December 2025. Across all eight areas, 127 documents are ready for handover with the district administration. In Chinap A’slang alone, 25 out of 93 households have completed payment and received their papers today.
Sangma thanked the Chinap A’slang Development Committee for working closely with the administration and stressed that the government would proceed only with local consent. “The government will not impose land settlement on any locality. We will move forward only at your consent,” he said.
The Chief Minister also used the occasion to outline major infrastructure projects underway in Tura, calling it the biggest development push in the town’s history. The overall redevelopment plan is pegged at Rs 1,928 crore, with works worth Rs 1,331 crore already underway.
This includes the Rs 60.76 crore redevelopment of Najing Bazar with nearly 200 shops, parking and modern facilities, and a Rs 51.21 crore multi-level parking complex at Dakopgre with cinema halls, gaming zones and food courts. The government is also investing Rs 6.51 crore to install 552 LED smart streetlights and close to 500 CCTV cameras linked to a command centre. A Rs 165 crore Integrated Administrative Complex will house scattered government offices under one roof.
Other projects in progress include the P.A. Sangma Sports Complex with a new West Stand, the Pa Togan Sangma Track and Field Stadium, and the Tura Technology Park.
Announcing further, Sangma said the September 2027 Assembly Session will be held at Tura’s new Convention Hall, and the Closing Ceremony of the National Games 2027 will also be hosted in the town, as part of the state’s push for decentralized governance.
Concluding his address, the Chief Minister said the land document is more than paper. “It is validation of dignity, security and financial and legal clearance,” he said.
