SHILLONG: The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) has condemned the state government’s reported move to convert the Facilitation Centre at Umling in Ri Bhoi district—originally established as a strategic entry and exit point to monitor the influx of outsiders into the state—into a commercial food court.
Through a press release, the Union expressed strong opposition after learning through media reports that the government intends to hand over the premises to major fast-food and beverage chains such as KFC, Starbucks, and Subway.
While clarifying that it is not against these multinational companies setting up businesses elsewhere within Meghalaya, the KSU asserted that they must not be allowed to operate at a location specifically designated as a crucial security and regulation check post.
The Facilitation Centre was established under the provisions of the Meghalaya Residents Safety & Security Act, 2016 (MRSSA), which was enacted following a massive agitation spearheaded by the KSU for the Inner Line Permit (ILP) during 2013-14.
At that time, the government led by former Chief Minister Dr. Mukul Sangma had assured the implementation of a comprehensive mechanism to check the unchecked influx of illegal immigrants into Meghalaya while the state’s demand for the ILP remained pending with the Central Government, leading to the passage of the MRSSA in 2016.
Although the MRSSA of 2016 is not as legally stringent as the ILP in protecting indigenous minorities, the KSU noted that the inclusion of the Facilitation Centre effectively mirrored the functional Entry and Exit Points of the ILP regime, ensuring that necessary infrastructure would already be in place once ILP is eventually granted.
However, the KSU lamented that in 2019, certain groups acting prematurely, along with MLAs and Ministers who lacked a proper understanding of the Act’s foundational objectives, introduced an amendment to the law before the original 2016 Act could even be fully implemented. This amendment led to litigation in the High Court of Meghalaya, which subsequently stayed the operations of the Facilitation Centre.
The Union attributed this legal setback to the failure of the government panel and advocates, acting on briefs from state officials, to effectively articulate and defend the core principles behind the establishment of the center before the judiciary. Even after the High Court’s ruling, the state government failed to appeal the decision, a silence which the KSU claims indicates a lack of political will to implement the MRSSA altogether.
In its press release, the Union questioned the accountability and commitment of the Meghalaya government regarding the safety, security, and preservation of the indigenous population, warning that unchecked influx could eventually reduce local communities to a minority in their own homeland, drawing a parallel to the demographic shift faced by the Tripuri people in Tripura.
The KSU pointed out that a decade has passed since the conceptualization of the MRSSA without any tangible implementation, and criticized the government’s assurances as mere empty words. Furthermore, the union highlighted that the 2024 amendment to the Meghalaya Identification, Registration (Safety & Security) of Migrant Workers Act, 2020—which was brought about only after rigorous checking drives conducted by the KSU over the past two years to enforce strict work permit regulations—has also failed to be effectively executed till date.
The KSU further expressed deep anger over the fact that while neighboring states like Assam and West Bengal are actively cracking down on and deporting illegal settlements of undocumented immigrants, and other states like Arunachal Pradesh are following suit, Meghalaya seems to be moving in the opposite direction.
The union questioned why the task of detecting and pushing back illegal immigrants from time to time has been left almost entirely to the KSU and a few other pressure groups, while the responsible government departments remain completely inactive on the issue of influx.
Emphasizing that the operation of the Umling Facilitation Centre is more critical now than ever, the KSU stated that the check post is vital to prevent undocumented individuals being evicted from Assam, West Bengal, and other states from illegally entering and settling down in Meghalaya. Additionally, the union maintained that an active entry point is necessary to curb the smuggling of narcotics into the state and to secure various other socio-economic benefits for the local population.
Issuing a stern warning to the state government, the KSU demanded that the plan to convert the Facilitation Centre into a food court be immediately dropped, and called for the immediate and full implementation of the original MRSSA, 2016, if the government has any genuine concern for the welfare of the citizens.
