Shillong/Guwahati, Jun 25 (PTI) A mob on Wednesday uprooted saplings and dismantled wooden structures erected to protect the plants, leading to tension in a village on disputed Assam-Meghalaya border, officials said.
To control irate villagers from the Assam side, who were clashing with those from Meghalaya after allegedly setting afire a camp in West Karbi Anglong district, the Assam Police fired tear gas shells and rubber bullets, a senior official said.
The plantation drive of red sandalwood in Lapangap village of Tahpat area was conducted by the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) of Assam. Police personnel were also deployed in the village.
A hill in Lapangap, on which the incident happened, is claimed by residents of both Meghalaya's West Jaintia Hills district and West Karbi Anglong district of Assam.
Since the saplings were planted a few days ago, villagers led by a few miscreants from the Meghalaya side, have been opposing the drive, an official of Karbi Anglong district administration said.
Around 400 people of Lapangap and other villages, backed by members of several social organisations of Meghalaya, went to the plantation area on Wednesday, uprooted the saplings and burnt the wooden structure around 11 am, claiming that Assam was trying to encroach into their state by carrying out the plantation.
West Jaintia Hills district Deputy Commissioner Abhinav Kumar Singh said adequate police forces have been deployed and the situation is now under control.
"Plantation activities were carried out by the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council without prior notice to the (West Jaintia Hills) district administrations," Singh told PTI.
He said the information regarding the plantation first reached the district administration a week ago and "we have restrained our people from going to the site as the peace meeting was supposed to be held today."
The scheduled peace meeting at Tahpat village did not take place as nobody turned up, the official said.
On the other hand, West Karbi Anglong District Commissioner Saranga Pani Sarma alleged that villagers from Meghalaya set ablaze a relief camp in Assam, leading to a clash between the two sides.
"Police tried to control the mob from both sides, but as they were not listening, tear gas shells were lobbed to disperse them. Police also fired 10 rounds of rubber bullets," a police official said.
Sarma, along with West Karbi Anglong SP Indranil Baruah, rushed to the spot to control the situation and held talks with their counterparts from West Jaintia Hills district.
Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council Chief Executive Member Tuliram Ronghang alleged that Meghalaya villagers uprooted the sandalwood saplings from the plantation, which was around 1.5 km inside Assam border.
"The area is clearly on our side. We will hold talks with the Meghalaya government and solve the matter as soon as possible," he told reporters.
Meanwhile, adequate police forces were deployed at the site along with three border magistrates for effective coordination with the Assam government.
Singh also said that the police personnel will be stationed at the site to check untoward incidents.
The DC said that a peace meeting will be held on Thursday to find an amicable solution.
"Meetings have been held at the DC and SP level, and now we want the peace meeting to happen at the village level so that both headmen and their councils can sit together and come to a solution so that such conflicts can be avoided in future and status quo be maintained," he added.
In previous meetings, it was decided that the status quo should be maintained till both Assam and Meghalaya governments come to a solution.
According to the DC, Lapangap village is part of Meghalaya, except for a hill on which the plantation took place which villagers from either side claimed as their own.
A leader of the influential Khasi Students' Union (KSU) said it extended full support to Lapangap's residents alleging that Karbi Anglong people encroached into the area.
"So, we dismantled all the structures and uprooted the saplings. Assam Police fired tear gas shells but we will continue to defend our land," he said.
KSU general secretary Neilkee Mukhim alleged that the Karbi people residing near Lapangap village had made the plantation, defying an agreement made between the two sides.
Assam and Meghalaya have a longstanding dispute in 12 areas along the 884.9-km-long inter-state border.
The two states had signed an agreement in March 2022 in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi towards ending the disputes in six areas.
Under the first-phase settlement at six places covering 36.79 sq km of disputed land, Assam received 18.46 sq km and Meghalaya got 18.33 sq km.
The remaining six areas, where the differences are more complex, are now being addressed in the second phase.
Meghalaya was carved out of Assam in 1972.