The Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) has issued a notification prohibiting non-tribal persons from purchasing or claiming land in the Garo Hills districts of Meghalaya, invoking its constitutional powers under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India, officials said on March 6. However, the council clarified that the status of land already legally held by non-tribal individuals will remain unchanged.
The council said the directive has been issued to safeguard, preserve and protect the land, customary rights and traditional ownership of indigenous tribal communities in the region and to prevent the alienation of such lands to non-tribal persons. The Sixth Schedule provides for the administration of certain tribal areas as autonomous entities in four northeastern states—Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
According to the notification, no person belonging to a non-tribal community shall acquire, purchase, hold, possess, inherit, lease, mortgage, transfer or claim any right, title or interest over land situated within the Garo Hills districts. It further stated that any transfer, settlement, mutation, registration or recognition of land in favour of a non-tribal person will not be considered valid and will not be acted upon by any authority.