Land for Tura campus of NEHU: Concern over delay in govt compensation

TURA, August 10: The Tura campus of the Northeastern Hill University (NEHU), even after years of its establishment, continues to function from the hostel of the Government Boys High School. A site selection committee for looking into the acquisition of land for the permanent campus has already selected a large area outside Tura on the National Highway. But now there is concern among the people of Garo Hills that even this selection will only be on paper as the state government is yet to pay up. The Garo Graduates' Union (GGU), an influential and intellectual group, has expressed concern over the delay in paying up for the land to the Nokmas, who are the original custodians of the land. It may be mentioned that a total of 600 acre of land with availability of drinking water has been selected for the campus but the NEHU authorities are unable to move in due to the fact that the Nokmas are yet to be compensated for the land. These Nokmas are now facing a vexed problem - while having given the permission for acquiring the land, the villagers are now turning their anger on them as they are unable to utilise the reserved land for Jhum cultivation. Time seems to be running out for the Nokmas to either continue keeping the land on hold with no returns or to give it to the villagers for utilisation. The general impression of the public is that the government should, at the earliest, either give some form of assurance and compensation or inform the Nokmas as to when exactly are they going to acquire the land. A large number of villagers are now facing the grim prospect of empty granaries for the coming winter as the season for cultivation of crops will soon be over.