Garo Hills Council Restricts Land Ownership for Non-Tribal Individuals

New Land Ownership Regulations in Garo Hills

Shillong, Mar 7: Exercising its constitutional authority under the Sixth Schedule, the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council has announced a new regulation prohibiting non-tribal individuals from acquiring or claiming land in the Garo Hills region of Meghalaya, as confirmed by officials on Friday.

Nonetheless, the rights of non-tribal individuals who legally own land will remain unchanged.

The council emphasized that this directive aims to protect and preserve the land, customary rights, and traditional ownership of the indigenous tribal communities, preventing the alienation of their lands to non-tribal individuals.

The Sixth Schedule pertains specifically to the autonomous tribal regions in four northeastern states: Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram, allowing for the governance of certain tribal areas as autonomous entities.

As per the notification released on Thursday, no non-tribal person is permitted to acquire, purchase, hold, inherit, lease, mortgage, transfer, or claim any rights over land located within the Garo Hills districts.

Additionally, any transfer, settlement, mutation, registration, or recognition of land in favor of a non-tribal individual will be deemed invalid and will not be recognized by any authority.

The council has also banned benami transactions, where land is held in the name of a tribal individual for the benefit of a non-tribal person, declaring such arrangements void and unenforceable.

Any rights or possessions obtained in violation of this notification may be subject to cancellation, resumption, or restoration as per legal provisions.

However, the council clarified that this order will not impact non-tribal individuals who have legally inherited or acquired ancestral property before the enforcement of the relevant land transfer laws.

Furthermore, any holdings or transactions explicitly approved by the government or a competent authority under existing laws will remain valid, although these exempted holdings cannot be transferred further without prior consent from the competent authority.

This notification is effective immediately.

The recent directive follows a previous notification from the council that barred non-indigenous individuals from participating in the upcoming elections for the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council, scheduled for April 10.