Amid discussions regarding the long-pending boundary dispute with Assam, Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma on February 20 said that his government will strengthen police outposts and border outposts along the inter-state boundary with the neighbouring state.
Replying to a Special Motion raised by opposition Congress legislator Charles Marngar on the problem faced by the people on the border, the chief minister informed the state assembly that the government has decided to recruit over 3,000 police personnel.
“These are (vacant) posts in the existing outposts and border outposts. Hence, once this process of recruiting 3,108 more police force is completed, they will be deployed and we should be seeing a much stronger presence of our police force at the grassroots level,” he said.
“We will ensure more visibility of our police personnel there to build up the confidence of the people,” Sangma said.
Stating that the state government has strengthened the police force, especially the border outposts, he said manpower has been enhanced in the old existing border outposts and many new border outposts have also been created to ensure the safety and security of the people on the border.
“In the past few months, the government has completed the appointment and recruitment of 996 additional police personnel, which is precisely for the reason that the different border outposts, though sanctioned posts were there, the recruitment had not been done and were lying vacant,” he said.
Moreover, he said the state government has also started an engineering wing within the police department.
“This gives the SPs necessary freedom and flexibility to invest in different outposts and provide necessary infrastructure without going through another engineering wing of the PWD or other agencies,” he added.
Earlier, the Congress legislator brought to the notice of the government the alleged ‘highhandedness’ of Assam police and exorbitant tax collection levied by Karbi Anglong Autonomous District Council of Assam on Meghalaya’s broomstick farmers.
Supporting the motion, opposition Voice of the People Party (VPP) legislator Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit said the problems faced by the border area residents were age-old ones.
Stating that negotiation was the best way out, Basaiawmoit lamented on the accusation made by Assam minister Atul Bora that Meghalaya has encroached on large tracts of Assam land.
